Wild Occurrences
by Burenda
Summary: After being rejected by Trunks, Pan isn't the most rational of beings around. She uses a prototype time machine to go to the past, but something goes wrong and instead she ends up on Vegeta-sei in an alternate present. Discontinued.
1. Prologue

(Note from Burenda: This fiction was originally written by MintlytheBADgoddess. The first eight chapters are her work, not mine. I adopted the fiction when Mintly could no longer continue writing it - and yes, I have her permission to continue her fic _and_ have it in my author account, so I'm not stealing _anything_. I have left everything, except the occasional change in spelling, punctuation, etc., the same as how Mintly wrote it.) 

(Chapter by Mintly) 

Disclaimer: The usual. No I don't own DB or the series. Don't sue me! I'm broke... 

Prologue 

It was another party at the Briefs. It seemed to Pan that Bulma had parties for anything and everything. This one was on the new technological advancement Bulma had made. Although she had long ago handed the company down to her son, she still worked in the labs on a daily basis. This new advancement happened to be a prototype time traveling machine. The whole thing sounded ridiculous to Pan, but she was far from the genius the Briefs woman was. 

Bra was the same way as her mother when it came to parties. Although Pan was far from the average girl, she had grown distant from her tomboyish ways in the last three years. She had even consented to letting Bra dress her up. Bra, being her best friend, knew the real reason to her easy defeat. It was to catch the attention of a certain dense lavender haired demi Saiyan. 

Pan was currently sitting in a tree, watching through the window all the people laughing and having a good time. She sighed, swinging her legs back and forth, watching longingly at the others. She was nineteen now, nineteen years old! Why was it that everyone still treated her as a mere child. It wasn't fair, even Bra was treated with much more maturity than herself and she was only 9 and a half months older! Pan dug her fingernails into her palms. No, she would not give in to the tears that threatened to fall. That would of course be weak. 

"Hey Panny? What are you doing up there?" came a laughing voice from below. Pan's breathing stopped as she immediately recognized the baritone voice. Looking down, she could see a mop of lavender hair and a wide grin. 

"N-nothing," she choked out with a squeak. 'Smooth, real smooth Pan' 

"Leave her be Trunksie," came a giggling voice to the left "She's having fun up there, right sweetie?" she asked as if talking to a child. A child! Pan was seeing red. The blonde poked Trunks in the stomach and he seemed to laugh along with her. His new girlfriend? Pan hopped down with a single leap, and landed with cat-like reflexes on the ground. 

"You're right," she spat venomously to the woman in front her. "I was having fun," she glared down at the busty blonde, who seemed a little nervous. Pan used her taller height to her advantage. 

"But we could have fun also," Pan grinned maliciously. She didn't know what had come over her. Jealously. It was filling her insides, entangling with her emotions and dominating them. Protecting what was hers? Hers? Trunks didn't belong to her. But she felt this need to kill the annoying little creature on the spot. Looking down to the arm linked in Trunks' she growled deep in her throat. Growled? Where had that come from? It sounded so animalistic, but in a way matched her current emotions. Without another thought, Pan formed a small ki ball in her hand, it glowing in the dark. She could smell the fear and confusion just radiating off the blonde. 

"Pan?! What are you doing?" Trunks roared in horror. 

"I'll give you ten seconds to leave," she shot her blast at near by tree, it exploding on contact. 

"Who the hell are you!?" the woman in her mid twenties screamed at the raven haired Pan. 

"10-" Pan began counting, forming another ki ball. The woman screamed and ran. 

"No! Wait!" Trunks called after her, his attention turned back to Pan, he was furious she could see that. Pan snorted as the ki   
dissipated into her palm. 

"What was that for!?" Trunks screamed at her. Pan flinched. She hated him mad at her, and he was on the brink of going super at the moment. 

"I didn't like her," she backed up a little towards Capsule Corporation. 

"Oh, so you were going to kill her JUST because you don't like her, that makes sense! That sounds like something my Dad would do," Trunks voice was dripping with sarcasm. 

----------------------------------------------- 

Vegeta and Gohan were sitting on the roof witnessing the scene below them. They had immediately (and appreciatively for the Saiyan no Ouji) left the party upon feeling the two kis fluctuate greatly. Suppressing their ki, they watched intently the two. Vegeta smirked. Finally, something worth his attention at that whole damn party. 

----------------------------------------------- 

"Who cares what you like, Panny! I liked her!" Trunks took a deep breath "What do you know anyway?" he sighed. Raking his hands through his hair. 

"What do I know?" she repeated after Trunks as he started to walk back to the party "I know plenty!" 'Like the fact I love you Trunks Vegeta Briefs!' she thought to herself, but didn't say. 

"Don't worry, Panny," he smiled over his shoulder using the nickname he gave her when she was small, "I'm not mad at you anymore. I'm sorry I exploded," he said walking away. 

----------------------------------------------- 

Vegeta snorted, awaiting something big to happen. He could feel the tension crackling in the air. 

Gohan frowned, watching as Trunks left. He always knew his daughter had a crush on the son of Vegeta, but he didn't like it. He honestly believed, this was best even though he knew his little girl was hurting. 

---------------------------------------------------- 

Pan was consumed in her emotions, she could barely see her surroundings. Trunks had openly rejected her feelings for her. He did not reciprocate them and never would. The pain was building up, it was just too much to sustain. 

"I am NOT a child!" she screamed, her ki swirling around her. Her trademark red was now flickering gold. 

------------------------------------------------------ 

Inside Capsule Corporation the lights had gone out. 

"Don't worry everyone," comforted Bulma "I'm sure they'll be back on again any moment now!" she shouted. Everyone silently   
agreed. No one had noticed the disappearance of the Z Senshi. 

------------------------------------------------------- 

"What the hell-" Yamcha could barely stand anymore, with the lashing of energy all over. 

"Its coming from Pan!" Krillan screamed in horror, pointing to the girl whose eyes were white with fury. 

"Look!" Goten yelled pointing to Vegeta and his brother on the roof of Capsule Corporation. 

The rest of the senshi made its way over to the two silent warriors. 

------------------------------------------------------------- 

Pan let out another agonizing scream in pain, trying to release the hurt she was feeling inside. She was waiting for a numbing release, but couldn't quite reach it. She was oblivious of the siding that was peeling off Capsule Corporation and her Uncle's screams for her. She was oblivious to it all. Pan just gave in to the consuming rage. It was then it happened. It snapped inside. 

---------------------------------------------------------------- 

With an explosion of light, the Senshi shielded their eyes as Pan's energy was now put into a more concentrated form. It flowed around her like a wild flame. Her now shimmering golden hair, stuck out all over the place and defied Chikyuu laws of gravity. Eyes, an intense deep aqua and dress torn where her muscles had expanded. The bust line was now incredibly indecent. 

"Wow.." Yamcha was the first to openly gape at her body. Gohan and Goten growled synchronized and smacked him on the backside of his head. Vegeta snorted when in fact he was intrigued, seeing this was the first Super Saiyan female that had probably ever been seen. She was the first. Goten and Gohan were frightened to approach her, knowing how dangerous the first transformation was. Trunks just openly stared. 

--------------------------------------------------------------- 

She had done it, even though her father had said it was quite impossible with her lack of Saiyan blood. Pan could feel the Saiyan in her coursing throughout her veins, aching for battle. Suppressing the feeling, she looked around to assess the damage she had caused, not too bad. Nothing the infamously wealthy Briefs couldn't have cleared or fixed. 

--------------------------------------------------------- 

"What is she doing?" whispered Yamcha to an entranced Trunks. 

"I-I don't know," he replied, not taking his eyes off Pan. 

"We better just watch." Trunks nodded absently.   
  
  
  


--------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Pan knew exactly what she had to do. She flied to the laboratorial end of Capsule Corporation. Entering the labs, Pan could tell the workers had all attended the party. The Saiyan female flicked on the lights, as she looked about a little until she stopped upon recognition. There it was. Approaching the prototype, she smashed her hand into the glass encasing the machine, shattering it effortlessly. An alarm went off overhead, but Pan ignored it. Stepping into the cockpit, her brows furrowed together confusedly. 

"I guess I should push some buttons," she shrugged flippantly, silently marveling in how her voice had gotten deeper. As if on cue, the machine hummed to life. She had to leave. She had to go to where they didn't know 

------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Bulma could hear the alarms going off in the laboratories and rushed to the scene. What she saw before her stopped her dead in her tracks. A Super Saiyan Pan was hijacking her Time Machine? Bulma blinked until she came to her senses. 

"Wait!" she yelled at Pan as the machine became humming with life "Its not fully tested yet! Its just a prototype, Pan!" Bulma   
screamed, running to the machine. With a whirl of color and light, Pan was gone. 

------------------------------------------------------ 

Next Chapter: Pan lands on...Vegeta-sei? 

--------------------------------------------- 

Stan: *narrows eyes* 

Mintly: What?! 

Stan: I know for a fact you already have the next chapter written. 

Mintly: So what if I do? 

Stan: When are you releasing it? 

Mintly: When I get enough reviews to motivate me into posting it *grins devilishly* 

Stan: Evil, Evil, Evil onna! 


	2. Not So Alien

(Chapter by Mintly) 

Disclaimer: I don't own nor claim to own Dragonball or any of the characters. Please don't sue me! I'm broke. 

Thank you to: Syaoran's Blossom (your review made me smile :D) Bunny, Miss Myre (soon enough?), DBZ, Sutaseiu (I received 6 *sticks out tounge*) and Angel Peace for reviewing last chapter. 

Chapter One: 'Not so Alien' 

It had been a hot, dry day. Luckily for him, the sun was rapidly setting over the horizon, and the heat would diminish a little as the stars began to make their appearances. In all of his luck, Radditzu just happened to be on outer palace duty on what seemed to be the hottest day of the decade on Vegeta-sei. Radditzu sighed as he wiped the forming sweat off of his brow as he kept his face towards the surrounding red scenery. 

He blinked, catching something out of the corner of his eye. Turning to his left, he had to shield his sensitive vision when a strange whirlpool of of light came out of the middle of nowhere. 

"What the-" the long-haired guard was thrust violently back against the palace walls with a powerful explosion of light and energy. 

And then it was silent. 

Rubbing the back of his head, Radditzu blinked a few times to try to shake off the dizziness. His Saiyan eyes readjusted quickly and stood up to investigate. 

"What the fuck was that?" he growled out. Standing up, he gaped upon seeing none other than a female. The strangest part was the large, odd machine lying next to her unmoving form. The machine itself sported symbols on the side that Radditzu, himself couldn't recognize, but knew he could most likely look up in his lab. Turning his dark eyes back to the girl, he saw no immediate danger and decided to cautiously walked over to where she lay. Red, dry dirt (if you could call it that) made crunching noises under his boots with each step. 

Her hair was not spiked, like all Saiyan female's were. In fact, it was mid- back long and straight. It was held up in the front with an tattered orange wrap. Radditzu snorted, at least it was traditional black, minus the brown and red blood that was matted into it. Turning her over with his bare hand, the guard winced upon seeing the blood gushing down from a cut atop her head. It was nothing a couple of hours in the regen tank couldn't handle. 

Looking right and left, Radditzu decided to lift her, hearing her moans in protest when he did so. With his lack of medical knowledge, he guessed a few broken ribs, and maybe a disjointed socket in her right shoulder was the most serious of her injuries. 

"Where did you come from, little female?" he asked gruffly to no one in particular as he carried her princess-style down the corridors. Radditzu had to ignore the looks he received from fellow soldiers, most of higher status. He just growled at them, shooting heated glares, telling them without words to back off. This had worked pretty efficiently all the way back to his room where he quickly pressed they access number and opened the series of digital locks. 

Radditzu's room was located in science wing. When he wasn't on guard duty, he worked with his father in the labs. His father was a known technological and strategical genius. Mot to mention he was much respected by the nobler Saiyans. Radditzu transferred his thoughts back to the female, placing her rather too gently for his liking on his bed. He didn't even notice how he didn't mind that the sheets, his sheets, were soaking with blood. By memory, Radditzu turned on the regeneration tank. Only Royalty and Royal guards had access to the tanks in their very own bedrooms, but being his father had worked on the creation of the very machine, he had granted access to it. The machine hummed with life as Radditzu lifted the lid off and pulled out the oxygen mask to prepare for use. 

Shrugging, he came to the uncomfortable conclusion he would have to undress her himself. So, focusing his vision on her face, he pulled off her gi and bandana, panties and bra soon following. Lifting her once again into his arms, the seven foot guard submerged her into the warm, blue, healing fluid. He pushed a few buttons on the machine and the lid automatically sealed tightly. 

"See, that wasn't so bad," he sighed to himself. The questions were still present. How did she get here? Who exactly was she? Why was she here? Radditzu knew he was going to have to report to Vegeta-ou of his little finding, soon. A frown creased his brow, at least he could answer one, if not more, of those questions that plagued his brain. He took off down the hall, blood stained glove tightly clutched in hand as exited towards the labs. 

-------------------------------------------------------------- 

Son, Pan was drifting in and out of consciousness for past ten minutes. It seemed she was being thrown in and out of the two worlds, never in one for too long. Her head hurt like hell and she still couldn't distinguish just exactly where she was. Suddenly, a loud, high-pitched beeping noise became audible. 

Blinking a few times, all she could see was.... blue? Abruptly, the beeping ended and the humming that had been present for hours had stopped. Furrowing her brows in confusion, Pan tried to figure out how to get out of the strange prison. Well, at least she wasn't claustrophobic, but was widely known for her lack of patience. Pan could barely make out two figures on the other side of the glass. 

"Hey! Let me out of here!" she yelled panicking. What if they were enemies? What if they wanted to hurt her. There was only one thing she could do.... 

-- 

Radditzu had just gotten back from the labs, confused as ever. It turned out that the female was amazingly part Chikyuu-jin and part Saiyan. Although most of her genetic make-up was Chikyuu, the Saiyan blood in her dominated the Chikyuu making her about half Saiyan. 

'Even our blood is ruthless,' Radditzu mused to himself, thoughtfully. In the mean time, Romei, a fellow technician and mechanical genius, followed Radditzu back to his room to see the demi, female he had heard of from the burly Saiyan. 

"So what are we going to do with her?" Romei asked his so-called friend with an arched brow. 

"We? I see no we in this matter. It seems to me there is only a me. I found her," Radditzu snorted. Both were oblivious to the beeping noise coming from the regen tank in the background. 

"Come on, you've got to be at least a little curious about this female. I mean, according to your story she just popped in from the middle of nowhere all of a sudden! How exactly did you explain it when you reported in to Vegeta-ou?" Romei asked genuinely curious. Radditzu's eyes looked downward at the mention of Vegeta-sama. Eyes widening, Romei waved his hands at the burly scientist. 

"Don't tell me you haven't reported this already? Radditzu! What the hell were you thinking?!" 

Interrupting the not-so-light conversation, a blast of light and energy whooshed from the regeneration tank, creating a loud explosion. Tritani- alloy and healing fluid was all over the small room soon as Romei and Radditzu watched, eyes wide in shock, as the girl floated in mid air over what was left of the regen tank. 

---- 

Pan blinked at the men in front of her, adorning armor similar in design to the Saiyan Prince's trademark spandex. Quickly she grounded herself, taking a fighting stance. Somehow, Pan expected them to do the same but all they did was stand there and gape at her like she had grown antennas, green skin and was sporting the name of a high-pitched wind instrument. Were they that intimidated by her? Was that it? The taller one with the strange eyepiece looked like a worthy enough opponent, but she had learned long ago looks can be deceiving when it came to battle (Vegeta). Pan cocked her head to the side at them in confusion, releasing her tense muscles. It was only until she felt where their eyes were burning brands onto her skin that she noticed her attire or lack thereof. Pan's eyes widened about three sizes and blushed a deep, deep scarlet to the roots of her hairs as she tried to cover her self with her arms. Looking quickly right and left, she spotted a nearby door, and ran into the room, slamming the door firmly behind her. 

--- 

About that time, Romei's eyes were bulging out. His nose was bleeding heavily, and was feeling lightheaded (probably from the   
blood loss). 

"WOW!" he breathed out, his heart pounding. "Did you smell that?" he, to his own surprise, kept his voice from squeaking like a male during his pre- rut. Radditzu snorted and nodded. 

"She's nearing season," he stated with an air of indifference. Romei gapped at his unmated friend. 

"Are you telling me, she did NOT smell like the best thing you've ever smelt, ever?!" Romei was almost yelling at the Saiyan in front of him. He wouldn't of believed it if he hadn't of seen it with his very own eyes. 

"She smelled good, Romei. The end," Radditzu growled, closing all discussion. 

From the other side of the door that Pan had disappeared through came yelling, "Good, because you are NEVER smelling me again!" she yelled infuriatedly. Radditzu smirked as he waltzed over to the door, tail swinging behind him in amusement, and attempted to turn the handle. He knew the door sported no lock, so the resisting was clearly from her simply pulling on the handle. The smirk on his features, if possible grew bigger. 

"You're going to have to come out of the closet sometime, onna," he laughed upon hearing the shriek of indignance from inside what was indeed, an closet. 

"NO I DON'T!" she yelled in the same fierce, defiant tone she had used earlier. Radditzu had to suppers the laughter that once again brewed in his stomach when imagining the little demi still blushing to the bone. He didn't think a blush that deep would ever fade away. Don't get him wrong, he was beyond shocked to see her body in its most.... natural form without, but the opposite sex hadn't been as appealing after the death of his mate. Radditzu growled for show as he once again banged on the Titani-alloyed door. 

"Look, I don't have time for this, little female," Radditzu was interrupted by an un-*lady* like string of curses and more screaming. 

------------ 

"I'm not a fucking child," she said in a calm tone, while inwardly she was seething. 

"She sure isn't," she heard a whistle and a loud yelp of pain coming from the other side of the door. Pan looked around the best she could for something to wear, all there was, was spandex and armor to place over the spandex. Grabbing one of the identical spandex, she proceeded to put it on, not minding how snugly it fit. It was in fact kind of nice. 

"All right, have it your way! We'll talk through the bloody door!" she heard him sigh in defeat and lean against the door. It was amazing how much her hearing could pick up when she thought about it. 

"Okay... I guess.." she consented. 

--------- 

"Name?" Radditzu asked, sticking to the simple questions. 

"Son, Pan. My turn. What's your name?" 

"Radditzu. My turn. Who are your parents?" 

"Son, Gohan and Videl." Pan teared up thinking about her parents. Was it their fault she couldn't live there anymore? Of course not... 

"Both aren't Saiyan names-" Radditzu accused but Pan interrupted him with another question. 

"Where are we?" 

"Vegeta-sei," he replied, rolling his eyes. Romei, who had remained silent all this time, shot his fellow Saiyan a confused glance. How could she not know where she was, she arrived on her own to their knowledge. There was a long pause on the other side of the door until Pan spoke again. 

"N-nani?" she choked out. 

"Veg-" 

"I heard you the first time, I just couldn't believe it!" she snapped at him. Radditzu and Romei shared another confused glance. "How could this be? Your not supposed to be here!" she ranted on. "This can't be happening. What about Chikyuu? What about Marron, and Mom and Dad?" She was now near hysteria. It was very possible she wasn't even born in this time. 

"Girl! Enough of your blabbering, I need to take you to Vegeta-ou now!" Radditzu roared. 'Vegeta...' this was all too much for her. Vegeta? A king? Was this some sort of hellish nightmare? 

"No!" she shrieked from the inside, clutching the door handle tighter. Radditzu sighed as he began forming a small ball of ki in his hand. Putting his hand on the door, the metal of the handle heated up upon contact. 

"Ah! Hot, hot, hot!" Pan cried clutching her burned hand. He smirked, opening the door with ease. Pan cowered a little as light flooded into the small closet. 

"Uh... hello?" she seemed nervous about something. Looking right and left, Pan had discovered that the other Saiyan had left already. 

"So nice of you to join me," his smile was intimidating as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and proceeded down the corridors. 

================================================= 

Next Chapter: Next chapter, King Vegeta is gone on diplomatic mission or aka 'weak treaty crap' And who makes an appearance but the last person Pan saw on Chikyuu. That must mean *gasp*..... yes! the bastard of a Prince is hanging around even in this reality. How is this possible? But what deal has Pan struck with Radditzu? Pan makes a little visit to the training facilities, and attracts some unwanted attention from the unmated males (she's rapidly nearing season! X_X). *grins wickedly* 

All is explained in the next chapter "This Means War..."   
  


(Small note from Mintly): 

All right, I've read all these stories where Vegeta claims that the Saiyan race have no modesty at all and do not care if they all waltz around naked or not (read some of Selenity Jade's work if you have no idea what I'm talking about *thumbs up*). I've decided to take a different approach here, bringing up the fact that you always see the Saiyans adorned in so much armor (head to toe!) and.... well, I like modesty! So, NYAH! To all those of you who don't like it! 

-- 

--- 

Stan: So, when shall the next chapter be coming out? 

Mintly: I'm not sure. I've got some ideas for upcoming chapters. I think I'll need some help though @_@ 

Stan: *narrows eyes* You're truly from hell. 

Mintly: *grins cheekily* Thanks little sprite! 

Stan: Pan and Radditzu eh? I've never read fics containing that friendship. They're related. 

Mintly: *nods* Distantly. She's his great niece. [[isn't it funny how many generations the series goes through?]] 

Stan: Yeah, she IS a pretty cool chick. 

Mintly: Har har har.. 

Stan: How are you going to explain that bizarre one? 

Mintly: I could do it right here, but I'm sure no one is listening in to our conversation. 

*crickets chirp* 

Stan: Anywho! Are there any other Super Saiyan's in this fic? Or is Pan incredibly strong compared to the others? 

Mintly: *grins* You'll just have to do a little R&R-ing to find out little sprite. 

Stan: *rolls eyes* 

Thanks -Mint n Stan 


	3. This Means War

(Chapter by Mintly) 

Disclaimer: You know how it goes, I don't own DB/Z/GT blah blah blah. 

--------------------------------------------- 

Thanks to: Sutaseiu, Blue-angel1204, Angel Peace (No I haven't read it. What DB/Z/GT fan DOESN'T like action? lol), shara, KinkySaiyan, caged bird (Read on, I'll explain *grin*) for reviewing the last chapter. 

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Chapter Two 'This Means War...'   
  


Pan's scowl grew deeper as she was carried further down the hall over Radditzu's back. Other Saiyans had stop to look, and some even whistled and laughed at her. She could feel the smug smile on the face of her 'chauffeur' without seeing. Pan was left to look down indignantly at his backside, but was sure to give the guards the iciest glare she could muster up. 

"Let go!" she yelled at him once more futilely, beating her fists on his back. She could feel the vibration his body was creating from his laughter. He was laughing at her! Pan could feel her ki rise. 

Averting her glaring to the floor, Pan was pouting, when to her surprise and delight she saw it. Radditzu's tail was swinging amusedly behind him. 

'Should I?' she thought to herself, grinning wickedly. As Pan brought it to her face, she immediately felt Radditzu stiffen and his   
walking cease. With one swift movement, she bit down on the furry appendage as hard as she could. 

Radditzu screamed in complete agony and pain as he dropped her to floor and fell to his knees. He clutched his tail as if to protect it and Pan saw the opening to run. So she took it. 

------------------- 

Walking down the halls, hoping to meet up with the tall guard and the little Saiyan-alien female was none other than Romei. Grinning to himself, he intended to make 'amends' with the little female, after Vegeta-ou ordered Radditzu what to do with her, of course. He was hoping that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't give a damn (like he did about a lot of things) and assign her to one of them. From what he had seen so far, she hadn't looked too dangerous at all. After all, Chikyuu is known for their incredibly weak but brilliant occupants. 

'Just look at the Queen of Vegeta-sei,' he thought to himself. The aqua- haired beauty needed to have the most loyal of guards around her every second of every day when Vegeta-ou wasn't around. 

Snapping out of his thoughts, Romei could hear a scream of pure agony coming from the hallway he was heading. Eyes widening, he wasn't sure he wanted to go down that corridor anymore, but as luck had him something small and hard rammed right into his stomach. The force of impact had them both sliding down the hallway on Romei's behind. (that's spandex for you) 

"What the hell-" he cut himself off upon looking down to the little female in his arms. Grinning towards the ceiling, he whispered a faint 'thank you' and averted his vision back to her. She was VERY near season, for just the scent of her was making him aroused. 

"Hello, little Pan," he smiled as if he were a predator, going in for the kill. "We meet under the strangest of circumstances, ne?" he watched as she looked up, confused at hearing her name. Looking straight at him, recognition flashed through her eyes. But then she did something he would have never expected. She stood up and kicked him in the stomach with incredible force, mumbling a faint 'bastard' over her shoulder as she sped off once more. 

Rubbing his hurting stomach on the hard floor he frowned. That was not how he saw his next meeting with the raven-haired goddess. Slowly lifting himself off the floor, it seemed someone in the other dimension hated him for he found himself being tripped over and sliding down the hall once more. 

--- 

"Get out of my fucking way!" Radditzu yelled as he tripped over something in the hallway, releasing an 'oof.' Glaring around to find what had caused his fall, he saw none other than Romei. 

"Where the hell did she go?" he roared, furious. Romei gulped, pointing the way she had left him and, faster than he could see, Radditzu stood up and was chasing after the girl once more. 

Smirking to himself as his nose grazed her overwhelming scent. He realized she would be all too easy to find now. Foolish female. He had to admit, he hadn't expected her to be so bold as to hurt him in.... such a way, but it was FAR from a pleasant surprise. 

--- 

Looking right and left, Pan knew he was hot on her trail. 

"Damnit, damnit, damnit!" she cursed to herself. "I'll get you for this Dende! Friend or no friend of my Dad's!" 

She didn't even know where she was anymore. 'All the hallways are exactly the fucking same!' she screamed mentally, not daring to stop running. She thanked her lucky stars right about then that she was Saiyan. Turning to a door to her left, she quickly dashed in. "Whew!" she sighed, leaning against the door, wiping the forming sweat off of her brow. 

"Who's that?" came a deep male voice. Bringing her head up slowly, she screamed in terror. There must have been thirty Saiyans in what she believed to be a training facility. Pan knew she didn't have a chance were she to go back out into the halls. Radditzu had been hot on her trail before, now it would be impossible to outrun him forever. Gulping, she lowered her ki as far as she could and ran to the nearest door, which happened to be another closet. 

"You'd think they have enough closets here!" she yelled, gaining the attention of all that were training. She looked around for another exit, but it was too late. Radditzu had blasted the training facility door off its metal hinges. He looked angry. So Pan ducked into the closet. 

--- 

"She's here...," Radditzu growled to himself. He could smell her the most clearly in this room, along with smells of sweat and blood. "WHERE IS SHE?!" he roared to the other third class soldiers sparring. Suddenly, it went quiet and all training ceased. All at once, the soldiers and guards pointed to the same door. Radditzu grinned. 

"Thanks," he threw over his shoulder as he walked over to the closet door, with the tightest smile playing on his features. They had been correct, the intoxicatingly sweet scent was the strongest here. Opening the door slowly, he looked on in horror. The closest was empty! He even looked up and down to make sure it was true, and it was. She must have just been there, for he checked his scouter and didn't pick any kis in the small room. 

Radditzu's ki flared as he erupted with rage and his tail was twitching behind him. "BAKAS!" he yelled, stomping out of the facility. 

------- 

Pan did everything she could to stop from laughing as she crawled through the vents. The look on his face was absolutely, wonderfully hilarious. Seeing him coming, Pan panicked, until she had noticed the vent at the top of the closet. She had tried to pry it off, but it wouldn't budge. So she did what any Saiyan would have done. She blasted the hell out of it! 

Crawling on her hands and knees, Pan snickered to herself. She could just imagine how angry the burly Saiyan was when he left the training room. A deep yawn escaped her mouth and Pan realized how tired and hungry she really was. Making a left turn, she crawled on for what seemed like forever until she stopped. 

"I guess I could take a nap," she yawned once more and lay down. "I mean," she sighed lazily, resting her head on her arms, "who will find me in here?" 

------- 

"Toma," she sighed heavily. It was just about then that she truly understood why her daughter had loathed the Saiyan Elite. He was cocky AND persistent. "I just don't think Bra wants to mate so soon. She's only twenty years old. She has a full life of almost a hundred and fifty years ahead of her. She doesn't want to mate just yet," she said sternly. 

Bulma sighed remembering her daughter would outlive her for at least sixty years. Her mate by a good hundred. But Vegeta had   
always reminded her that he wouldn't live that long anyway, considering his heir would take the throne before that ever happened. Bulma's hand found itself against her bonding mark thinking of Vegeta. She wished he were here. 

"But Queen Bulma-," Toma pleaded with her, but she had cut him off. 

"I'm feeling tired, Toma. Please tell the guards to not let anyone in if its not the utmost of importance, on your way out," Toma didn't need a less subtle hint and was on his way. 

"Yes, my Queen," he bowed and was reluctantly on his way. 

Bulma sighed as she leaned back into her plush chair. She was glad Vegeta would be back in a few days for the tournament. Bulma snorted. He wouldn't miss it for the world, even though technically he wasn't allowed to compete. She smiled thinking about the tournament itself. Every unmated female was forced by Vegeta-sei law to participate. 

Although the original purpose of the tournament itself was to find the strongest mate for the future Vegeta-ou of Vegeta-sei, her   
mate had changed that himself the year he came of age. 

Queen Bulma's thoughts were interrupted as a scream came from... above? There were no floors above the royal section! 

------ 

Pan woke up in an immense amount of pain. The excruciating ache trailed down her vertebrae and pin pointed at the end of her spinal column. Releasing a scream of agony, Pan's eyes rolled into the back of her head. She wasn't sure if her small body could stand the pain as it came in more crashing waves. Pan's body fell limp as she let out a few tears in ache and frustration. Something wanted release, she just wasn't sure what yet! 

Her ki rose dramatically, and her fists clenched until they white. She couldn't stand very much more of this building pressure until... 

------- 

The ceiling was shaking violently which left Bulma wondering what exactly was happening. 

"Guards, guards!" she screamed outside panicking. Immediately the burly men outside of her throne room doors entered. 

"Yes, my-" the guard stopped when seeing what had caused her so much distress. "Holy shit! What is that?!" yelled one. A large piece of ceiling fell right from above dangerously near where Bulma was standing. 

"Your majesty!" the other guard called, but he knew she could never move in time. The guard known as Garrot, leaped to push the Queen violently out of the way. That's when it happened. 

A raven-haired young woman fell to the floor through the ceiling. Her body was limp and lifeless. Bulma shielded her eyes as the dust from the plaster- like material billowed in the air. 

"Are you all right, your majesty?" Garrot asked her from behind. Bulma's head hurt like hell, but all and all she was alive. 

"My head hurts, but I'll be fine," she sighed as she stood up. Her eyes squinted, trying to see through the dust. "What is that?" she asked absently to no one in particular. 

"I believe it is a Saiyan, your highness," the other female guard made her way over to the the limp girl. Bulma gasped and stood up, quickly making her way over to the un-moving figure. 

"Stay back, my Queen," the guard commanded. "It may have been a failed assassination attempt on your life," she scowled. 

"Nonsense!" Bulma wouldn't hear anything of it, shaking her head "If it were an assassination attempt, I guess I should feel insulted being it was a pretty poor assassin," she laughed to herself while the guards looked at her curiously. Bulma shook her head and cleared her throat. "Turn it over," she commanded with a wave of her hand. Madrai quickly complied, turning the 'thing' over. It was a female? 

"Is she alive?" asked the blue-haired genius gravely. 

-------- 

It must have been hours later that Pan woke up for she didn't remember a thing. Rubbing her aching head, she noted her vision was blurred. 

"Ugh, where am I?" she asked herself as she attempted to get up. 

"Oh! You're awake," came a familiar soft voice to her right. 

"Who are you?!" Pan yelled. She could see flesh tones and a light aqua. Her vision was clearing rapidly. 

"Princess Bra."   
  


=============================================== 

Next Chapter: Bulma and Pan have a little talk. Meanwhile Prince Trunks and King Vegeta come back a little early from their mission. Radditzu re-enters once more! What's all this about a tournament? *cracks knuckles* WHAT!? - "Who IS she?" -   
  


In Chapter Two: 'Who IS that onna?'   
  


Small Note From Mintly (SNFM): 

All right, I know this chapter sucks. *sobs* I tried, I really did! I didn't know it would come out this badly. I'll make it up to you guys! I promise! Trunks comes in VERY soon, I promise! 

------------------------------ 

Mintly: *cries into Stan's shoulder* 

Stan: Shh... it's ok. 

Mintly: No, it's not! I let them down! 

Stan: They may forgive you, this chapter can't be THAT bad. 

Mintly *wails louder* 

-Mint n' Stan 


	4. Who Is That Onna?

(Chapter by Mintly) 

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT 

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Thanks to: [[[Syaoran's Blossom, SSJ-Mirai-Trunks, blue-angel1204, Bunny, Sutaseiu, Rice C25, Angel Peace, NOt Saying, Embury, chiby-pan-chan (*growl* she's not with Radditzu! ALL RIGHT!? *inhale* >:D) Renee, Mara and DR. SQUEE (who just happens to get extra ReviewerGodPoints (RPGs) for reviewing twice *wink*)]]] for reviewing the last chapter. 

-------------------------------------------- 

SNFM: 

This chapter is dedicated to the pissed off 'SSJ-Mirai-Trunks'. All right buddy, *rolls up sleeves in similar fashion* the way I see it is, we don't know how strong the Saiyans would be. *Basically* --(key word) what happened was the simple fact: Bulma's machine screwed up! Pan didn't go into the past, she went into an alternate timeline. In other words a DIFFERENT present. If Vegeta grew to become VERY strong, then he would have high expectations of his 'subjects' also. You know... 'the Saiyan race will NOT be weak' and all that crap *crowd gives thumbs up* (someone PLEASE write a comedy entitled 'Our Favorite Saiyan' *grin*). Radditzu, being brother of Kakarotto (aka the STRONG dude) should at least be a little powerful, so I decided to exemplify his abilities making him VERY strong. And, NO, Pan is far from weak, in fact she's VERY strong in her SSJ form and very tactful when not. But without being in it? Her power is dramatically less. Super Saiyan isn't something you throw around frivolously here. Thanks for your concern 'Trunks -Mintly 

Another SNFM: All right, I'm going to begin things with nasty IMPORTANT plot points that you guys most likely don't want to read. I promise, it doesn't get too deep. I'm giving you an overall view of what happened. -Mintly 

===================================================== 

All right! By popular demand (and rampaging reviewers) .....I *does hand movements* have made *more hand movements* Trunks! 

======================================================   
  


Chapter Three: 'Who is that Onna?' 

On Romula-sei: 

When Trunks and Vegeta landed on Romula-sei, they were shown nothing but the utmost respect and servitude. Romula-jins had been allies with the Saiyans ever since the days of the tyrannous Frieze. Although not an helpfully strong race, the Romula-jins had their very own use in the war raging against the monstrous ruler. In fact, their alliance triggered and encouraged somewhat, the rebellion on planet Chikyuu. Known for their legendary ability to resurrect the dead after a few hours of death, Vegeta- ouji (at the time) had recognized their technique as useful and sided with the strange blue species. 

King Vegeta and Prince Trunks were coaxed by King Farren of the Romula- jins, to attend the great celebration in honor of their arrival. Being good diplomats, the Saiyan duo reluctantly agreed. The festival hall was heavily embellished of what appeared to be various ornaments of intergalactic trade and splashed bright colors. Food and Drink was served to the Saiyans and entertainment was planned. Half naked women danced for the alien guests and music billowed through the halls. All were well until the festivities came to the end, Farren claiming they'd do diplomatic traffic after they'd rested and head was cleared. 

That night, while the Princeling lie awake in bed, body craving the release of slumber after the long day, there was an intruder. At first the highly tuned senses of the Prince did not pick up the masked alien, being so deep in thought of course. Fear. It was the pungent stench that made him jump to his senses just as small ki ball was shot directly at him. Eyes dilated, and ki flaring, Trunks lunged at his attacker just as his father barged into his sleeping quarters. Trunks shot a clean blast of ki right to the intruders heart. He was dead. 

"How did you know?" Trunks asked his father referring to the attacker. 

"Another was in my quarters," Vegeta-ou growled, showing his obvious displeasure at the situation. 

"I thought this was supposed to be politics not warfare," stated Trunks, ripping the cloth mask off of the assassin. 

"Brat," he snorted, "they're one in the same." 

-------------- 

"Bra?" Pan shrieked, sitting up quickly and ignoring how the room was spinning. She was already doing the math in her head. If Bra was born, there must have been a Bulma, but that was quite impossible under these circumstances. How did THIS happen? 

"Is everything all right?" Bra frowned, over looking the informality. Her hands resided on her hips as if she were missing something. 

"How old are you exactly, Princess?" 

"My birthday is in three weeks," a look of dread crossed over the young royalty's face. "I'll be twenty, standard years. Why?" she arched a brow at Pan. If the quarter Saiyan was feeling lightheaded before, she felt as if she were going to pass out all over again now. 

'I'm not in the freaking past!' she yelled at herself inwardly 'I'm in the present! Just a DIFFERENT present!' Bulma wasn't kidding when she said more tests needed to be completed. 'Speaking of the devil machine? Where is it? I forgot all about it after waking up in that prison' she shuddered involuntarily at the thought 'What if it was destroyed?' she was panicking inside while sustaining a cool exterior. 

"Don't panic," the Princess jumped up. "Tell me, I'm sure my mom could help!" 

"Panicking?" Pan gave the aqua haired demi a strange look. "What do you mean?" 

"Your tail, it's twitching back and forth," Bra rolled her eyes as if it were obvious. 'Tail?!' 

"TAIL!?" she stood up quickly to affirm it but immediately fell over. 

"If my suspicions are correct, you'll be a little off balanced for a few hours," came a soft high voice from the lavish entranceway. Pan immediately swung her head to the sound of the voice, seeing the blue haired genius leaning against the door frame. 

"H-how?" was all that could make it out of Pan's lips. 

- 

A Vegeta-like smirk crossed Bulma's features before she said, "I think I should be asking you the same. I tried to run a background test on you, but nothing came up when I entered your blood pattern into the main computer bank. Astonished that you could have passed through the VERY extensive and thorough trait typing as a child, I came to the conclusion you're a hybrid. A half breed," Bulma's smile grew a little wider as the demi's face paled and her daughter's jaw fell loose. She laughed lightly. 

"Yeah! Imagine my shock, here I was thinking my Bra and Trunks were the only Saiyan Chikyuu-jin cross in the universe," walking forward to help the fallen Saiyan off the floor, she sat down on the guest bed. "No worries, little female," she assured warmly. "I won't turn in your parents to my mate. Actually, after we have this 'little talk' you are welcome to stay." 

--- 

'Bulma, she was always the first willing to take in others who possibly couldn't be trusted,' Pan thought shaking her head inwardly. HER Bulma would have been thrilled to hear that she and Vegeta would have met regardless of the circumstances. They were seemingly fated to be together, it was inevitable. 

"What's your name?" 'Queen' Bulma caught Pan gazing at her tail. 

"Son, Pan," she said absently, reaching to catch it as it would flicker away. Bra laughed lightly at the scene before her but the reaction of Bulma was unseen by the two demis. 

"S-s-son?" asked Bulma shakily. Pan frowned at her inquisitively. 

"Yeah? So?" 

"Is your father by any chance........Son, Goku?" Pan blinked. 

"No," she answered truthfully, grinning mischievously nonetheless. 'Some things are just fate..' Pan thought, amused. Bulma sighed inwardly, and Pan could see her posture relaxed a little. "He's my Grandfather," she stated simply as if it were no big deal and, with that, Bulma was out like a light. 

----- 

"You know, Mom won't be too happy when we see her," Trunks frowned as he piloted the ship into Vegeta-sei's atmosphere. It was right about then that he was very grateful that Romula-sei was one of the neighboring planets. 

"Hn," his father grunted in response. 

"I mean, the massacre that I just participated in (not that I'm complaining *grin*) will ensure we will not be ALLOWED to go   
on diplomatic missions for a least a few years ahead." Vegeta smirked at the thought. 

"Good." 

Suddenly, a beeping noise went off, signifying an incoming message. Trunks clicked the orange button to the right, watching as the screen relayed none other than Nappa. 

"Sire," Nappa bowed traditionally. "It seems our Queen's planet hasn't taken a liking to the idea of the on goings at Romula-sei as of ten hours ago," Vegeta frowned at the mention of their important ally, Chikyuu. "They're repealing the alliance, claiming it was broken by the spilling of blood onto your gloves, sire". Nappa's brow twitched, Trunks noted. "They-" 

"Enough!" his father interrupted. "We shall arrange a meeting with these 'rebelling Chikyuu-jins' after I land" he commanded with a wave of his gloved hand. 

"Yes, Sir," and with that the screen filled with a rapidly approaching Vegeta-sei once more. 

---- 

After Bulma had woken up, Bra had left. Bulma had asked question after question until the point that Pan spilled her heart out to her. About home, about her mother, father, being a Super Saiyan and most of all about what had happened with Trunks (leaving out his identity of course). The Super Saiyan part was what had shocked her cerulean genius friend the most. It seemed that everyone on Vegeta-sei believed that only Vegeta had the pure blood line to be the legendary, and was. He had told HIS son on numerous occasions that it was quite impossible with his 'Chikyuu-jin defect'. She had made Pan promise her that she wouldn't transform while she was on Vegeta-sei, for she feared political and domestic havoc and disorder if the others were to have knowledge of this. Pan agreed under the circumstances. 

Bulma was quick in comforting her, although not really knowing why. Pan supposed it was part of her nature. Bulma had also explained about her tail growing back. Bulma had said it had been the atmosphere of Vegeta-sei that allows one to regenerate a lost tail. She explained it was because the Saiyans were so weak without their precious appendages that they had to adapt. It would be like losing a leg to the human. Pan was just surprised to know she had one to begin with. Why hadn't her father told her? 

Bulma also explained to Pan who was blushing deeply about her scent. She said she was nearing what Bulma had called 'season'. It was a Saiyan thing, and Bulma told her she could give her pills to sedate the scent a little. 

Bulma sniffed loudly, her sobs now quieting, "I'm so sorry you had to go through all that Panny," the corner of Pan's mouth twitched when hearing the nickname Bulma would use for her, "He must be blind! Look at you!" Bulma motioned violently with her hands. 

"It's okay, really," Pan sighed, surprising herself when leaning into the hug Bulma was giving her. "Actually, I'd really like to know about my...er...your 'time' machine," Pan said, watching as Bulma blinked a few times. 

"Oh! Yes!" Bulma chewed on her bottom lip. "I'll have to a have a little talk with Radditzu," Bulma frowned at the mention of his name. To be honest, she thought the part where Pan explained how he had hunted all over the ship, trying to capture her, was quite comical. She had even laughed in between tears. But the simple fact he waited to come to light, and still hasn't about the missing female, irked her. 

"For the meantime," Bulma placed her hands on her hips to make it a point that she would not be refused, "you'll be staying in the room next to Bra's. It's an adjoining bedroom on either side, so you'll be able to ask her if you need anything. On the other side is my son," Bulma laughed outright at the thought. "We had to keep a room in between them when they were children. They'd outright kill each other if Veggie-chan didn't forbid it," sighed Bulma, reminiscing, not noticing she had gotten off track until Pan cleared her throat. 

"Yeah, well, they're pretty much like that back home too," Pan shrugged casually but was inwardly shaking. She would be roomed right next to person whose fault the whole crazy reality jump was to begin with. 

"Let's get you that pill," said Bulma, while motioning Pan to follow her. Pan's head nodded rapidly. 

------ 

When Vegeta and Trunks landed, two Saiyans awaited them. One, Bardock, his leading head of strategical commands. Bardock was one of the VERY few Saiyans he gave the slightest of respect to. He was the only Saiyan who would openly take the opposing side in an argument if he felt it needed to be brought to light. Bardock had raised him as his own son when his father was slapping around females in his harem or out purging a planet for the lizard, Frieza. 

Two, his son's whore 'mistress'. Vegeta's lip curled in disgust upon seeing the grimy female. Sure, she might of been considered pretty but she didn't hold a candle to his mate nor did she have the intelligence and pride his mate carried. She was something to be used during a male's first rut, have fun with, and cast aside with the garbage. Nothing more. 

"Sir," Bardock nodded in respect, not bowed. A small mischievous smile alighted the Saiyans face, for he knew exactly what had   
transpired on the newly almost inhabitantless planet. 

Out of the corner of his vision, he could see his son being whisked away by the foul creature. 'Hn. Weak,' he thought to himself with annoyance. 

----- 

Upon entering the training arena, Pan smirked. 'Now THIS was more like it,' she looked over what she supposed to be 1st class' (not elites), sparring. Frowning, she noticed all of the males were paired up. 'Too bad' she thought to herself. Her skin was itching and blood calling for a fight to release the built up stress since she landed here. So she walked off to the side, and sat (as she had seen Piccolo do many times when watching Vegeta and her Grandpa spar). 

Sitting there, Pan's eyes went back and forth watching from pair to pair. She found the most interesting to watch was the pair farthest to the left corner. Although she could not see the actual faces of the men sparring, she could pick out their ki signatures easily. Somehow, their technique had felt familiar. It was almost as if she had known it before. 

Pan ducked her head a little as a man came crashing into the wall to her right. She watched as the guy slunk to the floor and rubbed his head. It was only when she began laughing that some of the other sparring pairs took notice of her. 

"What do you call that?" she laughed harder, back against the wall. "I saw that coming two kicks and a punch before you got   
sledge-hammered," Pan continued on, oblivious to the little circle that was gathering around her. "I mean, EVERYONE knows you never try defend high after your opponent begins punching higher also, he's just trying to get into your defenses in the long run and WILL sweep your feet," Pan said pointedly to the glaring man, "and, in your case, mold you into wall." 

"Well, look at the female," said one, smirking right at her. 

"What do you think your doing in a first class male training facility, little one? Hmm?" asked another mockingly. 

"I came to spar," she laughed lightly, "but you all seemed to be occupied. After seeing the display your little friend here put on, I'm SURE it wouldn't be worth my time anymore," Pan lifted her nose a little higher as she floated to her feet. "But let me tell you what," she threw over her shoulder, intending to leave. "I'll come back for a visit." she smirked as she walked towards the exit. Pan grinned wickedly when she felt several kis flare at her words. 'Saiyans are so easy' she thought to herself, thinking of all the times she had seen Vegeta goad his son using the same method. 

"I'll fight you, onna," came a masculine voice from directly behind her. Pan smiled to herself, this was working better than she   
expected... 

------- 

She moaned as his hands roved down lower over heated flesh. "Mmm, don't stop," came the response as his lips assaulted her. 

"I missed this," Trunks sighed, assaulting her neck and collar bone. Ruuka tensed. 

'He didn't say 'you',' her mind screamed at her, but brushed it off as Trunks fingers violated her further, causing her to shriek in pleasure. Head lolling back, and eyes rolling upwards as wave after wave of pure bliss came from every stroke of her innermost walls. He hadn't even entered her yet and she was already worked up to the brink. 

Ruuka knew he was using her, but she couldn't help the way she felt about him. It wasn't like this with the others at all. Sure, he might of been good looking AND the bloody Prince of Vegeta-sei, but it was something more. Something she couldn't put her finger on. The thought of herself finally having affections for a male and not being reciprocated outraged her beyond belief. 'How DARE he,' repeated over and over in her mind. 

Suddenly, Trunks stopped right before Ruuka hit release. Her head immediately swung down to look at him in shock. 

"Why the hell did you stop!?" she screamed at him. 

"This," he said gesturing to his barely aroused state. "I'm going for a spar." he said pulling his pants on. Her eyes blazed with pure rage, partly at her aroused and unsatisfied state. 

"You just can't fucking leave!" Trunks ignored her as he pulled his armor on. "Don't ignore me!" she yelled futilely. 

"Don't wait up, Ruu," he said absently in his deep baritone voice. With that the lavender haired demi was out the door. Leaving a completely seething, turned on, female Saiyan. 

"I'll have you begging for me, Trunks-ouji!" she screeched as she threw a vase against the wall of her quarters, shattering it into a thousand pieces. 

-------- 

One after one they all came at her. A swift upper cut to one, sent a Saiyan crashing into the wall next to his unconscious buddy. Using a foot sweep, she could drop at least three to the floor while she dealt with two others attempting an aerial attack. 

Pan had long since realized that they couldn't feel ki, using it to her advantage yet sympathizing with their weakness. 

'Probably from Grandpa,' she scoffed to herself. Pan could feel how much stronger she had gotten when acquiring her tail. Although at first she needed help to balance from Bulma. Pan could see some Saiyans gaping at her, as a little circle formed around the fight. 

"What the hell is happening?" she could hear one yell. 

"Who's the bitch?" came another, causing the smirk to widen on Pan's face. It was only when a punch connected with her jaw that she got angry. With an explosion of light emitting from Pan's small form, she powered up until she was at the brink of legendary, but not quite going over the edge as she had promised Bulma. The circle of Saiyans were all tossed here and there with concentrated energy being expanded. All but one. Her eyes fell on his face and must have widened at least an inch, and she was visibly trembled. 

"I'll take you on, little female," he said with a smirk.   
  


=============================================================== 

Next Chapter: What's all this about a tournament? Night-time falls over Vegeta-sei and Trunks is up to something. But what? Could it be involving the feisty, raven-haired temptress? Has Pan even MET Trunks yet? Bulma briefly explains how she ended up with her mate and Vegeta sends an edict to find this hiding *female*. Doesn't he know he's housing her? 

All is in stored in: 'Not the Strongest Monkey in the Barrel'   
  


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Mintly: Wow, this is a good amount for posting *grin* 

Stanley: Yeah, but its a little late.. 

Mintly: Hey! I've been busy writing the rest of the plot out. 

Stanley: They won't forgive you this time. 

Mintly: ...... 

-Mint n Stan 


	5. Not the Strongest Monkey in the Barrel

(Chapter by Mintly) 

Thanks to: Panny, underwater angel, SaiyanSerpent (4 RGPs!), RiceC25, Syaoran's Blossom, Miss Myrhe, jewels, DR. SQUEE, and Sutaseiu :For Reviewing the Last Chapter.   
  


This chapter is dedicated to SaiyanSerpent for the enthusiastic reviewS (note: I loved them! *grins wickedly*).   
  


SNFM: All right, I know this is REALLY late and while I'm writing this I'm thinking of a way to keep you guys reading, EVEN with my inconsistent updating. I had a family crisis that required immediate attention at the time. Another thing, I've decided I needed more Saiyans so I'm either going to make my most consistent reviewers into Saiyans or borrow some of everyone's mates. I'm not expecting to get any, but it would be a HUGE help if ANYone would send them my way (I promise I'll give them back!). Oh yes! You can email me at: Mintpandabear@hotmail.com -Mintly >:D 

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On with the fiction... 

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Chapter Five 'Not the Strongest Monkey in the Barrel'   
  


Turning around, Pan came face to face with....her Grandfather? She could feel all color leaving her face as the sparks that once   
crackled around her diminished. For once, there was complete silence in the large, dome training facility. The man in front of her rolled his eyes skyward and took a fighting stance. 

"Onna," he barked with his baritone, slightly rasped voice "are you going to fight me or admire my good looks all day?" his tone was dripping with sarcasm. Pan blinked once. Twice. 

He wasn't her Grandpa! No, he couldn't be. Her facial features scrunched up and brows furrowed in thought. How could she have missed it before? His ki signature was all wrong. Too low and dark to be the one of the angelic savior of Chikyuu. If he wasn't Grandpa Goku? Who exactly WAS he? 

"Huh?" she asked arched a delicate brow. 

"POWER THE FUCK UP!" Pan flinched, then frowned at the man in front of her. Well, he wasn't the only one that could be uncourtly. 

"You asshole! You don't have to yell at me," she countered back, nearing him. 'I can't believe I mistook him for Grandpa' she inwardly scoffed. 

"Not if you don't STOP being a baka and fight me!" 

With that Pan took the offensive and lunged for him. Catching the voluminous Saiyan off guard, she connected her fist with his right cheek with an intense charge. The blow thrust his head backwards, and for a few moments, there was no movements at all from the soldier. Inch by inch, he turned his head back towards her, a fire much akin to the one she'd see in Vegeta's eyes in this unknown fighter's own dark orbs. Underneath was a highly thin layer of shock. 

"I wouldn't have done that if I were you," he said in a soft voice, TOO soft for her tastes. It was then she noticed it, their proximity. 'Damn,' her eyes widened fractionally. 'Baka! What did 'Queen' Bulma tell you?' Pan could already see a little aqua-haired genius chiding her in her head 'You have to avoid the males, Pan! Although this dose will subdue the alluring scent much, it doesn't do practically squat in close proximity contact.' There was only one thing Pan saw fit to do at a time like this. Reaching her fist back, she slugged him again. 

The strange warrior yelped and clutched his stomach fiercely, tail now curling tightly around his waist. Recovering quickly, his vision shot back to hers. Pan wasn't too sure if he were going to strike her or swallow her whole and also wasn't sure which she liked better. So quickly, she got into her fighting stance and waved him at her. 

"I'm ready now," a smirk adorned Pan's lips as she powered up slightly, pretending to be oblivious of the little scene that had just carried on AND the innuendo he implied with his eyes. It looked as though he was confused at first, then furious, but then a smirk that mirrored hers and was about to begin his assault when..... 

"There you are, you little shrew!" came an fiery growl from the doorway. 

--------------------- 

Radditzu stopped dead in his tracks at seeing all the wounded soldiers scattered like toy dolls all over the room. None were hurt beyond a few hours in the regeneration tank, he decided assessing the damage, but none were also without injury. Well, all but two. 

"Uncle?! What are you doing here?" He arched his brow upon noting his father's twin's presence. Radditzu observed pointedly from his blinking scouter that his Uncle was almost two thirds of the way powered up, but not quite at his pinnacle. It appeared the little vixen had angered the hot- headed Turles. 

His Uncle growled deep within his throat. "Stay the fuck out of this," he outstretched his finger to point at the gawking Pan, "this is between ME and HER!" he roared. 

"That's right!" Pan jolted in. 

"Stay out of this!" came synchronized vociferations as they turned to face her. Pan jumped a little, but kept glaring at the two burly Saiyans. 

"You don't understand, she's not LIKE us," Radditzu accused, referring to Pan. Turles rolled his eyes. 

"All right, Radditzu. What the hell is wrong with her," he asked, voice dripping with sarcasm as his impatience to the situation became obvious. Radditzu growled and stepped closer to his uncle. 

"Not a word of this escapes from your lips, agreed?" Turles nodded in agreement. "I just came back from talking with the Queen. She's demi! Just like the crown prince," he whispered hoarsely. 

"You mean..." Turles looked over to the female for confirmation, "a weakling half-breed?!" it looked as though Turles' eyes were about to pop, they were bulging so much. "And I was playing with the idea of taking her, she smelled so good!" 

"Not a weakling," he corrected. "Don't forget what happens to the hybrids of Chikyuu-jins and Saiyans!" he was referring to Prince Trunks, who was nearly as powerful as his father at half the age. "You were thinking of taking her as a mate?!" Turles looked exasperated. 

"Not as a mate! Just taking her," he raised his eyebrow to further imply his nephews thoughts. Radditzu was sure to shoot him a dirty look before approaching the female. 

"What are you doing?!" his Uncle shouted at him. Radditzu cocked a brow. 

"I'm going to escort her to her room," he said as if it were an obvious thing. 

"No," Turles shook his finger in front of his nephew's face. "I'm going to fight the onna." Radditzu's ki flared a little. 

"You don't get it, I have my orders!" his scowl deepened as he realized his brawny Uncle wasn't going down without a fight.   
Meanwhile.......... 

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Trunks was walking along the long corridors of the palace. All his thoughts centered on getting a good spar in. His blood demanded it after killing those worthless weaklings on planet Romula-sei. Another thought that brushed his mind was his whore/mistress or whatever she was supposed to be addressed by. He knew his father was right, and he should have destroyed her months ago if he could replace her. Finding willing females was definitely not the problem. In fact, many a time had Trunks-ouji 'disposed' of onnas after finding them in his bedroom when he came back from a spar in the early hours in the morning or sneaking in during his rest. 

The biggest problem was finding females that were strong AND desirable. It was hard enough to find creatures who could handle his...stature...and fulfill his......special needs without breaking or at least in the regeneration tank for a few weeks. The few that were strength-wise worthy could be down-right gruesome and cause sores on the eyes. It could take hours of staring to distinguish their sex from the facial view. 

The lavender-haired demi knew that by law any female had to succumb to the Saiyan no Ouji if he wished of them. A law that had been traditional for mating royalty for hundreds of generations. 

His mind floating back to sparring, he knew his father was preoccupied and his mother probably wouldn't walk for another few days so he had to satisfy himself with training with the lower classes. 

On his way to the elite training facility, he could hear voices from the first class room. 

"Voices?" he thought aloud "what are they........talking about sparring instead of the actual fighting?" he shook the thought off as he further investigated. 

------------------------------------- 

Pan was currently watching the two men battle back and forth over her. Although the discussion or verbal fighting happened to be about her, they seemed to be oblivious to her presence. 

"Men," she rolled her eyes as she watched them practically yell down each other's throats. Pan wasn't sure whether she should leave or kick their asses but it seemed fighting happened to be the farthest from their minds at the moment. She could see some of the Saiyans that had previously met her fist or toe, getting up and either limping off (probably to the medical wing) or listening in. Those who stayed to listen in, were enthralled in the argument unlike herself. 

"Well, I don't care what you think *Uncle*, I have my orders!" yelled a steamed Radditzu, mere inches away from his uncles face. 

"Orders!? From who, may I ask *Nephew*," Turles yelled back. 

"Queen Bulma," came a cocky response as repetitive gasps could be heard around the room. 

------------ 

Trunks had been watching interestingly the whole conversation until his mother was mentioned. 

"What about the Queen?" Trunks faded out to stand right before the duo. The two arguing relatives' jaws dropped open and closed like fish, as if they were going to speak and nothing came out but squeaks. 

"S-she ordered me t-to escort Son, Pan to her r-room," Radditzu barely choked out. The Prince, as always, had that mischievously dangerous glint to his eyes. It had been said he could be just as cruel and un-relenting as his father was. 

"I see," Trunks attention to the situation left as he stared at the female in front of him. She was absolutely stunning. Her long healthy hair didn't defy gravity at all like the average Saiyan women's. It glistened in the lights, and seemingly slid against itself. Her eyes were wide, as if she had been caught doing wrong, deep intense black contrasting to his own pale ice. Both were directed straight at him. "Well, I'll settle this," the corners of his lips tugged into a smirk, not taking his eyes off of the female nor did she off of him, "I'll escort the little female," he said smoothly, deep voice rumbling. 

The female, 'Pan', as the lower class had said, seemingly snapped out of her stupor and glared at him. 

"I don't need a fucking escort!" she said icily, crossing her arms with jaw set into clear defiance. After overcoming his immediate shock, his grin grew bitter-sweet as he arched his brow at the female. 

"Such a foul mouth for a seemingly serene creature," he said amused by the female's response. He knew she was intrigued by him, her eyes never left him. 'Of course,' he thought arrogantly. 

The two lower classes scoffed at the Prince's choice of words. "You should of seen her earlier, my Prince," said the one with shorter spiked hair, laughing in amusement. "She stole this from me," he said pointing to the slight reddening on his cheek, "and this," he pointed to his stomach. Trunks refrained himself from breaking out in laughter. So she liked to play rough? This was excellent! 

"I would have done more too if this," Pan stepped towards the longer haired Saiyan, "BAKAYARO didn't stop me from pounding his friend into the ground!" Pan raged, eyes alighting with fire once more. By just looking at her he could see she was full of life and energy. 'Perfect' Trunks eyes glinted with twisted mirth while watching the female flagrantly insult the two soldiers. 

"Weak onna, you could have only tried," the older Saiyan crossed his arms and scoffed. Trunks put on an air of indifference as he waved his gloved hand. 

"Enough!" Trunks-ouji interfered. Signaling to the steamed relatives with his fingers, he ordered them back to their rooms. It was then and only then that he was to find that the little Saiyan female had disappeared as well. Trunks chuckled. 

"Little minx, you have taken my interest. You will not escape me now," and with that he chuckled in delight and went to go talk with his Mother.   
  


----------------------------------------------------------------- 

It was a few hours later that Vegeta-ou was having a conference with leading officers for all four classes and his right hand man, his head of the science wing and strategical commands. 

"Bardock." 

"Yes, Sire?" came a mechanical reply from the brawny Saiyan. 

"News on Chikyuu-sei?" Vegeta grunted out as he balanced his head on his right palm. 

"It seems our leading ally has revolted. News traveled fast of the massacre on Romula-sei and the Chikyuu-jins weren't too happy about breaking the treaty with our allies," Bardock said bluntly to the shocked officers. 

"That preposterous!" Officer Beileo of second class cried out, jumping out of his chair. 

"Of course it is," Bardock nodded his head as he willed the outraged officer into his seat, "but we can't do anything about it. I had talked out the terms with one of their diplomats and it seems they refuse to believe we did not assault them," Bardock said seriously, a slight frown on his face showing his agitation. A round of coughs made its way around the room, at the thought of their King's actions labeled 'unprovoked'. 

"What about the Queen, is she not of their origin? Could she not 'talk' with the Chikyuu-jins?" asked the first class commander.   
Vegeta-ou's head perked up at the mention of his mate. A secretive smile crept onto Bardock's face, not having to read the King's thoughts to know or what or *who* he was thinking of. 

"No, you forget Gallot. It was many years ago that her highness lived on her native planet. For Chikyuu, the generation that would have remembered her vast significance with inter-planetary affairs is gone," several heads lowered at the thought of their Queen's fragile life span. 

"Enough. We will continue this at a later date," Vegeta-ou commanded with the wave of his hand, "what of domestic news?" he asked with an air of indifference contrary to his piqued interest. If the rumors were true it seemed things would be interesting around the palace for a while. 

"Ahem," began Gallot, clearing his throat "a third of my soldiers are located in the regeneration tanks, Sire" he mumbled out.   
Vegeta-ou blinked. 

"I heard about that!" exclaimed Ry'ono the third officer, "A single soldier took out at least forty without a scratch on him!" Beileo, Bardock, Gallot and Fringo nodded in agreement. All had heard the same rumor floating around the halls. Vegeta rolled his eyes. His soldiers were no better than gossiping onnas. 

"I heard your brother and son was involved too, Bardock," Beileo grinned. Bardock looked shocked at first, and then covered it up with a smirked. 

"I wouldn't be surprised. I'm sure you've all experienced the hot-headed duo," the four winced in agreement. Vegeta-ou was silently becoming more interested by the minute, if this were true, then things were looking up for acquiring a new sparring partner. A wicked grin spread across his face at the thought. 

"Er.." Gallot started, shifting lower in his chair, "It wasn't exactly one of my soldiers.." synchronized brows furrowed in confusion. 

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked the burly elite. 

"Well, um..itwasanon-classedfemale" he blurted out all at once. 

"NANI!?" shouted the once silent King Vegeta. All looked up to their King in horror, "Where!?" he raged. 

"Her? I-I-I don't know! She disappeared with Bardock's kin!" he pointed the finger straight at Bardock. Vegeta arched his brow at the senior Saiyan, tail twitching back and forth in agitation. 

"Bardock?" he asked calmly, a little too calmly. 

"I haven't seen either since before I left this morning, Sire," Bardock answered before his King had to ask. Vegeta grinned roguishly and pointed a gloved finger straight at his science wing head. "You will talk to your son," he commanded. Moving his attention towards his officers "and YOU will let word out that I want this female living and kicking...so to speak, at my throne in two days." 

"W-will you be releasing an award, Vegeta-sama?" asked Beileo gravely, sliding up a little in his seat. Vegeta smiled evilly. 

"No. Let it be known that if I don't have this girl in the time I specified, I will be very displeased," and with the threat in hand, all   
members of elite board gulped. 

================================================= 

Next Chapter: Nighttime falls upon Vegetasei. Pan and Trunks mostly *grins evilly*. Yes, the next chapter is about Trunks and Pan. Maybe some more info on this tournament? What does Pan think after seeing Trunks again? What do you get when you cross a feisty temptress and a pushy Prince in an awkward situation? The next chapter! 

All in store in: 'All Steamed Up'   
  


SNFM: All right, I know this chapter was supposed to be what the next chapter is. But I didn't think I could fit it all in with out giving you a half-ass job (and I did it anyway >.!!!). Gomen Nasai! I promise I'll try to hurry the next chapter. -Mintly 

--- 

Mintly: Ugh, I know you guys are thinking *HEY! There is so LITTLE of Pan's view here!* but- 

Stan: Actually I was thinking the exact- 

Mintly: THERE IS *frowns at Stan* a really good reason for that. 

Stan: Which is? 

Mintly: I decided to incorporate Pan's feelings in the next chapter *smiles sweetly* 

Stan: You know what? 

Mintly: ? 

Stan: That was possibly THE WORST excuse I've ever heard..............ever.... 

Minty: No! It's true, so be prepared for the next chapter. It's all about Trunks and Pan. 

-Mint n' Stan 


	6. All Steamed Up

(Chapter by Mintly) 

TG/Z/BD nwo t'nod I :remialcsiD 

--- 

Thanks to: Syoran's Blossom, KinkySaiyan, Saiyan Serpent (I've got some plans for our little demi *grin*), SSJ-Mirai-Trunks (You'd actually believe I'd leave your review unanswered? *insulted*), Miss Myrhe, christabeleve (*squeak* m-me too..), Elizabeth, Not Saying, anonomous, RiceC25, underwater angel, Lady Tomboy (Well that was....entertaining..), Sutaseiu, Trotter: for reviewing the last chapter.   
  


SNFM: I was reading the reviews and I was shocked at seeing all the people who actually keep up with my story even when I don't update in a week. Names such as Sutaseiu, Saiyan Serpent, Miss Myrhe, Syoran's Blossom and RiceC25 (if I missed any, I'll make it up). YOU are the kind of reviewers that made me want to write this chapter. Anyone can write a review... but coming back to read more makes me feel.... great! If I could I'd send you all Saiyan plushies. Don't get me wrong, I don't write for the reviews, but knowing that you guys go out of your way to read my work encourages me to write. Frankly, I was contemplating stopping. I thought this was story was so horrible. If you don't believe your review counts, your dead wrong. I'm on end after every chapter is posted thinking "this is the chapter they'll stop reading altogether". In fact, I'm going to try to read and review at least one fic of my signed in reviewers. Thanks for Reading -Mintly   
  


==================================================== 

Chapter Six: All Steamed Up   
  


After Pan had escaped the company of the Prince, she had realized she didn't know where she was headed. Leaning against a wall, she slid down to sit on the ground. Try as she might, the image of Trunks burned in her retinas and she wasn't sure if she wanted to see properly again anyhow. Suddenly, a scowl made its way over her features upon recognition of her previous thoughts. 

"I hate him!" she screamed in fury. Fury directed at both herself and him. Rage that she allowed herself to feel that way again after all that had happened. Rage that she wasn't good enough for him and that he wasn't made to reciprocate her feelings. Pan shook her head. He was so different here, he had been brought up a Saiyan, a ruthless warrior, a slave to the crown of his father. It had broke her scarred heart all over again seeing him, they were just mere feet away but so many miles apart. His slick lavender hair, it was long and tied back with a few short pieces framing his face. Trunks had never let his hair grow out when she had known him. Crystalline eyes stung with fresh tears once more. 

"NO!" she yelled out, her booming voice echoing down the hallways "I may have lost my heart and soul but I will NEVER," the air around her crackled with energy as the panel tile of the floor began to raise around her "lose my DIGNITY!" she roared. 

The palace began to quake as Pan's eyes lolled into the back of her head, stricken with barely suppressed rage. She was not weak! Hair flickering gold, she didn't even feel when her body began to levitate. 

-------------------- 

Bulma was in the middle of heated passion with her mate when the palace began to shake. 

"What is it?" Bulma gasped clinging to Vegeta from under him. Her eyes darted to the embellished light fixture swinging back and forth above their bed. Debris from the ceiling snowed down around them in disarray. 

Vegeta-ou's face twisted and contorted into a look pure shock when he realized what was happening. He could feel the immense power radiating in the western wing of the palace. It was someone's ki! Jumping off of his mate, he pulled on his spandex with lightening speed. 

"Tell me, what's happening!" Bulma frowned, sitting up. Her hands were placed on her bared hips. She almost had to suppress a snort when she noticed where his eyes were looking. 

"A ki," Bulma saw no abnormality in this. In fact Trunks- "and it's not of the brat's." he said making a move for the door. 

"Pan..." she whispered to herself, eyes widening in panic. 

"What was that?!" Vegeta swung around, turning his full attention on her. His eyes were alight with suspicion. 

"Oh, MAN!" she covered up, not believing he'd buy it for a second. He could always tell when she was lying to him, the few times she ever had to do it. Vegeta shrugged, and headed for the door once more. Bulma didn't even have time sigh in relief. 

"NO!" Bulma yelled, running towards him. Causing Vegeta to arch his brow at her and growl in frustration. "I mean... don't go," she recovered quickly. 

"What the hell do you want, onna? I have to go NOW!" she could tell he was losing his patience and rapidly too. "It's that female! I know it," Vegeta decided rashly to himself. 

"Stay, 'geta," she purred sexily using her nickname for him. Brushing her bare body against his, she could feel him harden once more. Vegeta eyes widened a mere millimeter, but being with him so long, Bulma caught it. 

"There's time for this later..." he told her painfully. The ki he felt was sky rocketing still. 'I still have a chance to catch it,' he decided. It was only when Bulma's fingers began to encircle his tail that he felt his knees weaken significantly. "Onna..." he growled out in almost a pleading tone. He could feel his groin tighten once more, as her fingers trailed base to tip teasingly light. 

"All right 'geta," she purred into his ear. Vegeta-ou sighed in what she guessed could be relief as he looked over towards the door. Suddenly, it didn't seem as important anymore. Several times he looked back to his mate's nude form and the door as if in a dilemma. Bulma smirked in victory as he kissed her roughly, tongue forcing it's way into her heated mouth right away with much demand. 

"Don't move!" he commanded huskily and slightly out of breath over his shoulders. With a slam of the door, Vegeta was gone. 

"Asshole!" she yelled to the closed door, an indignant frown covering her face. 

------------- 

Pan was lost in her own emotions. It was only until she could feel the snapping point, that last level before reaching legendary, that she forced herself to calm down. Her breath came ragged and rapid as she tried to suppress her inflamed ki. 

"Look at yourself," she voiced calmly, "you almost lost control." Surveying the damage she had caused, she decided it was repairable. The walls and floors were full of deep cracks and holes. There was no tiling under her feet at all, just a metallic cement-like surface. 

"What the fuck happened here?" she swung her head to a familiar baritone roar from behind her. 

"Why do we always meet under the most odd of circumstances?" she asked floored Radditzu, voice radiating indifference. 

"Who did you piss off this time? The bloody Vegeta-sama himself?!" he whistled as he eyed the damage to the corridor. "I somehow knew you were involved when I felt a ki raise out of the blue, you seem to be a bit of an instigator. Now, who?" 

"It was a big guy," Pan crossed her arms as she fed him lies. "Taller than you." 

"I'm not surprised," he said absently. "There's only three people on this ship I can think of that could have created this magnitude of damage," he eyed her firmly. "The King, the Prince and my Father." Radditzu said, confident of his suspects. 

"Well, I have yet to meet the King or your Father so I can't exactly tell you," she threw over her shoulder as she began to walk away. 

"Where do you think you're going? You don't know your way around," Radditzu yelled after her, outraged. He even forgot to ask her where the Saiyan she had encountered had gone to. He quickly made his way to walk by her side. 

"All right, all right," she consented, " 'escort' me to my room," rolling her eyes, Radditzu walked her down the corridor. 

------------------------------- 

"Onna," Vegeta-ou growled, eyes darker than usual (if possible) as he slammed open the door. 

"Uh... yes Vegeta?" Bulma feared he knew her 'little secret' and was furious. At least, he appeared to be furious. Bulma backed further towards the backboard. Not that she believed he would actually hurt her, but he was scary when he was livid. 

"Do you know what I saw when I finally," he emphasized 'finally' with his deep voice, "arrived?" He anguishingly, slowly walked towards her as if he were the predator and she was the succulent hare or wild bird. 

"N-no, what did you see, Vegeta?" she attempted to smile sweetly at him, but failed. 

"Well," he started as he peeled his spandex off slowly and put one knee on the bed where she lie, "first there was an immense amount of destruction," his eyes darkened as she pulled the covers over her head and squeaked. "There wasn't a fucking person in sight!" Bulma refrained the sigh of relief as she felt two weights on either side of her hips where the bed had sunk down. "Now," a very nude Vegeta peeled the covers down over her face, tail thrashing behind him "what do you have to say for yourself, onna?" She squeaked once more, seeing the anger and desire swirling in his onyx orbs. 

With a nervously, cheeky grin, Bulma said the only thing she could think of: "Oops?"   
  


--------------------------------------- 

"Is THIS all mine?!" she gaped, at the extravagantly lavish room she was in. Although the bed was a little small, it was more than enough to fit conformably two of her petite selves onto it. Strange and exotic furniture was scattered all about the large quarters. 

"Of course," Radditzu scoffed while leaning against the door frame, seemingly disinterested. 

"Well?" Pan asked him, brows lowered. 

"Well what?" 

"Get out!" Radditzu rolled his eyes as he moved to exit mumbling a few incoherent things about 'bitchy in season onnas' and 'no   
respect'. 

------------------------------------- 

Hours later... 

"So Mother," Trunks-Ouji lie back on his bed, talking into the vid phone. He was apprehensive about visiting her, fearing the wrath of his father upon interrupting their 'sessions'. He decided upon phoning her, if she were busy she simply wouldn't pick up and he wouldn't get his ass kicked later. Trunks was delighted in finding her simply resting, alone. 

"So Trunks?" Bulma arched a brow, curious to his reason for the call. 

"I hear you know about this Saiyan female I ran into today.." he trailed off knowing she'd understand whom he was referring to. Bulma's hands waved in front of the screen. 

"Oh no, no, no!" she frowned at him, getting her point across. "Two words for you, buster. Off. Limits." Secretly she realized she didn't mind seeing Pan and Trunks together much. From what she had guessed of Pan's brief explanation, they had been quite close in her reality. It must have been weird for the girl, seeing him after all that had happened. But it didn't matter what she believed, poor Pan was healing from a previous love and she knew how poorly her son treated the opposite sex. Pan did not need to be hurt further if anything. 

"Why, what do you mean?" he asked with an innocent smile upon his face. Bulma snorted. 

"You're just a wolf in sheep's clothing," she said using the Chikyuu-jin saying. 

"Come on, Mom," he whined as if he were ten years of age "at least tell me where she's roomed," Trunks gave her his best smile. 

--------------------------------------------- 

"Bored..." Pan was sitting on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "Must...find..something to do.." she choked out. Eyes darting around the room, she looked for something she hadn't seen or broken yet. Then she saw it... 

A huge grin alighted Pan's features as if she were a child on Christmas morning. Quickly, she ran up and pounced on her bed, jumping up and down. She couldn't help but laugh like a kid. Hey, she had been doing nothing for about an hour! 

------------------------------------------ 

Trunks frowned as his expert ear pricked up upon hearing laughter in the room next to his. "Is that one of Dad's diplomatic guests?" he asked his mother in incredulously. 

"Could be," Bulma shrugged, holding back the laughter that was brewing in her stomach, knowing damn well who he was referring to. 

"How juvenile.." he rolled his eyes as he continued his conversation with his Mother. 

------------------ 

Pan paused upon hearing a knock on the door. 'No doubt it's Radditzu,' she thought, preparing herself for a fight. Padding over to the door, she quickly swung it open. 

"Don't you know-" Pan started but her voice caught in her throat upon realizing it was definitely not Radditzu. Three exotic creatures stood before her. 

"Miss Son?" asked one with a delicate feminine voice. She had deep cerulean skin and large rectangular ears. Her hair was a long green as were her eyes. Underneath each crystalline eye was a dark, deep blue dot. Next to her, was a similar female. She was obviously of the same race. She noted behind the two was a male looking alien. Instead of the blue presented of the two females, his skin tones were of yellows and golds with a flaming red mop of hair. All three wore similar gold bangles on their biceps. 

"Yes?" Pan arched a brow. 'Who are they and what do they want?' she thought to herself. 

"We have no names, only numbers given to us, Miss Son," started the same female "and we have been ordered to escort you". 'She read my thoughts!' Pan silently observed. 

"Don't feel violated," comforted the other female "it is not intentional. Only a curse of the A'yokans," she bowed her head in small apology. 

"Then how do you know when someone is talking or thinking when not looking at you?" Pan scratched her head in confusion. 

"It is hard to explain, but we can try on the way," said the first female with a small smile. 

'All right' she thought to them with a grin, knowing they would hear her. 

--------------------------------------------------- 

Bulma was in the middle of arguing with her son when a vid-phone-window popped up behind her. 

"Yes 2617?" Bulma asked the exotic female, she could hear screaming in the background. A small frown was on her pretty little face. 

"It seems Miss Son will not cooperate," she pointed to 2618 and 3392 trying to catch a screaming Pan. Bulma's jaw dropped at the spectacle before her eyes, hardly believing it. 

"You can't make me!" Pan yelled to the two slaves as she jumped over the baths, the unlucky 2618 and 3392 falling in. 

"Tell Pan I'd like to have a word with her," Bulma said absently, watching as an exasperated 2617 called out to the little female. 

"Bulma!" Pan yelled in delight upon seeing the blue-haired genius as she ran up to the screen. Bulma ignored the gasps amongst the slaves of her informality. "I'm so glad to see you! They tried to take off my clothes and- " Bulma interrupted the flustered Pan's whispering with her own laughter. "It's not funny!" Pan frowned at her "I tried using the exit but they locked the door from the outside and I really didn't want to blast through it after the-" 

"Damage you caused today?" Bulma finished for her. Pan blinked. "I'm not Queen for nothing, you know," she told the confused Panny. "In any case, what's wrong with being in the nude while bathing?" Bulma asked genuinely interested. She might have believed it had to do with being from another planet, but Bulma had remembered no modesty in front of members of the same sex on Chikyuu. 

"It's not that," Pan whispered. "It's him!" she said pointing to the red haired man, silently waiting for orders. Bulma openly laughed. 

"Panny," Bulma started with a small smile. "3392 is an asexual being" Pan eyed the male-like creature who adorned a smirk on his face and nodded in confirmation. 

"Like Piccolo?" Pan asked suspiciously. 

"Like Piccolo," Bulma confirmed with a nod. 

"All right," Pan agreed and Bulma turned off the window. She had only yet realized her error when she had noticed that Trunks was gone. 

------------------------ 

Upon seeing the Saiyan female he had been searching for through his vid- screen on his mother's, he had realized with a smirk that she was at the baths. The baths were made exclusively for royalty, with the exception of a few guests of course. In fact, the name itself described the large room very well. 

Trunks didn't even stick around to listen to his mother and her slave converse as he left immediately in high spirits. 

------------------------ 

"It's dark blue," Pan wrinkled her nose, referring to the hot water. 

"Get in, it feels relaxing," 2618 encouraged. Pan eyed the water carefully before putting one toe in. Looking back to 3392 nervously, she jumped in and was surprised when it only came up to her hips, leaving her upper body cold. 

"What's that!" Pan shrieked as she felt the females rubbing something onto her skin. 

"Oils," replied one, rubbing it up her arms and shoulders. Pan found herself leaning into it. She felt warm hands on her back and knew it was 3392, but didn't care as she flexed and unflexed her tense muscles. 

"Funny, they don't smell like anything," Pan observed absently, rolling her neck. 

"And cover up your natural scent? Never," 2617 laughed musically. Pan was in utter bliss. Her muscles hadn't felt this relaxed   
since.....well, her muscles had NEVER felt this relaxed. Involuntarily, Pan sighed and closed her eyes. Usually, she wouldn't have left herself this open for attack, but she couldn't help it. She had been seduced by their skilled fingers. She didn't even noticed when the door had opened until their hands had stopped and she felt a ki rising in the room. 

"Hey! Why'd you st-"   
  


---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------- 

SNFM: No 'Next Chapter' this time. Think of this as Chapter 6 part A. I wrote so much I had to cut it off somewhere. I decided to start the next chapter with Trunks *grins* -Mintly 

--- 

Stan: *glares* 

Mintly: WHAAAT!? You've been doing this all chapter. 

Stan: You invited *HIM* over.. 

Mintly: Him? 

Stan: My counter-part! The one you like to call 'the real Stan'. 

Mintly: Oh, yeah...he's upstairs raiding my fridge. 

Stan: Traitor.. 

Mintly: I don't see why you don't like him, little sprite. I mean, you are based on him. 

Stan: First of all, he barges in, has atrocious manners, steals your Ranma 1/2 manga, teases you and claims it's in his job description, and leaves with a prize (usually from your refrigerator). How do you put up with him?! 

Mintly: Revenge...Stan...*smirks* 

Stan: *shudders* 

-La Minta y El Stano (jajaja) 


	7. All Steamed Up Pt B

(Chapter by Mintly.) 

Disclaimer: I don't own the DB series (lucky you guys). 

Thanks to: Trotter, Burenda, Elizabeth, Not Saying, Hotohori4life-H4L (*blinks* Really!?), Syoran's Blossom (No, Saiyans ARE modest, Trunks is baaad *grins wickedly*), RiceC25, Rainymalamute (6 RGPs!), Shi no Tenshi, Saiyan Serpent (H.F.I.L yeah!), Go10, Akana Akurei (5 RGPs!), Lady Tomboy, (How could I get sick of such an entertaining reviewer?!), Veresti- Please Tell Me Why (Actually, it worked out perfectly for me..), lija, Vegeta Chika, ismynickfunny, Frozenflower AND Maddy: for reviewing the last chapter. 

This chapter is dedicated to Burenda for being damn correct in reviewing how under appreciated Bardock and Radditzu are. For your prize I *does hand movements* give you *more movements* STAN!(genus bakaus) [Sorry...it's not Bardock hunting season yet...] *mails tied and gagged Stan over to Burenda's review box* =^-_-^= 

SNFM: *blinks* This didn't come out like I pictured it. I even have another version of this chapter. Actually, If I posted the chapter as it was, there would be much angst ahead. Oh well, you can't have 'em all. On with the chapter. -Mint 

______________________________________________________________ 

Chapter Seven: 'B' 

As Trunks unlocked the doors to the baths, he was nowhere near prepared for the sight before him. There stood, in the dark water, the onna he had been making after for the past few hours. A familiar tightening in his groin caused him to groan deep in his throat as he watched her innocently relax. 

The servants, as he'd rather call them, rubbed every inch of her as she leaned into their skilled dextrous fingers. Her eyes were   
squeezed shut tightly in appreciation. Although he could only see above her waist, (for the opaque water granted her some privacy) her perfectly rounded breasts were exposed to his hungry azure eyes. 

"Hey why'd you st-" she protested angrily, eyes shooting open. A minute gasp made it's way out of her lips as her vision connected with his. Pan's dark eyes widened several degrees and suddenly Trunks-Ouji didn't think it was such a great idea any more as a blush raced up his neck and throat. 

'Blushing!?' he thought to himself incredulously 'I haven't blushed since I was an innocent! Why the hell would I start now?' Reflexively, Pan crossed her arms over her bared breasts to grant herself some modesty. She failed to realize it only pushed her chest up further to his view. 

"Get out," Pan said in a cool icy voice, a little too calm for his liking. Trunks might of hesitated if he didn't see how her eyes betrayed her. He could tell she was angry, her ki was rapidly rising. No, she was seething. A blush spread feverously like wild fire across her cheeks and neck. 

Nervously, the slaves backed out of the water and left the room, but 'she' seemed to be oblivious to everything else. It intrigued him. So much, he took a step into the warm water. 

"I said g-get OUT!" she choked out, screaming at him all the same. Trunks arched a brow as he slid his other booted foot in, not caring at all that he was getting his spandex wet. Instinctively, Pan backed into the petite pool's tiled wall. Nervous eyes darted around the room for what he guessed a means of escape. 

"JUST STAY BACK!" she screamed at him, throwing some lazy ki blasts at him all that he easily dodged. It was obvious her intent was not to harm him. But why? Daring himself, Trunks trudged over to the raven-haired temptress further until he was mere inches away. 

"W-why?" Pan choked out softly to him. If anything, her eyes had gotten wider and now were looking like saucers. Slowly, the   
lavender-haired demi hooked his hand under her hair and behind her neck. He could feel the onna's muscles tense as he proceeded his exploration. Inhaling a deep breath of her scent from the crook of her neck, he was nowhere near ready for the reaction of his next words. 

"You smell...intoxicating," he breathed out, nuzzling her neck. Trunks didn't even see her jaw clench or the fire in her eyes before she raised her hand to strike him. Feeling her muscles contract under the skin and ki shoot up, he looked up just in time to see a blow heading straight for his jaw. 

_______________________________________________________________ 

"Vegeta-sama," he began by bowing traditionally, "May I have a word with you?" the scarred soldier asked the impatient Ou. 

"Bardock," Vegeta-ou started, sitting on his throne, "you and I both know damn well that you would speak even without my consent," Vegeta rolled his eyes, waving his hand for Bardock to rise. 

"About Fringo's son," he couldn't help the small smirk that played on his lips from the King's words, "He wishes-" 

"To mate with my daughter, get to the point!" Vegeta cut him off. 

"It seems the polls have been drawn in and a high percent of the mated population would agree to Princess Bra being mated with the elite commander's son," Bardock could see Vegeta was more than a little unsettled. 

"Polls? What fucking polls?! Was there a god damn survey sent out behind my back?" Vegeta roared at him. Bardock blinked a few times before responding. 

"Actually, Toma is quite in favor by more than half the entire Saiyan population. He's also been trained very well, possibly the fifth strongest to you, Sire." 

"You know my views on this, soldier," Vegeta spat out, dark eyes never leaving the surprised Bardock. Vegeta-ou was sure to remind the Saiyan of his place when he over stepped his boundaries. 

"Yes, Sir," Bardock bowed once more and exited to speak with his son. 

________________________________________________________________ 

"Oof," Trunks exhaled as her fist smacked him straight across the jaw. Upon inpact he slid back a few feet, but righting himself quickly. Frowning, he rubbed his jaw. 

"What was that for?" he shouted at her, trying to hide the agony he was feeling in his lower face. Sure he liked skin to skin contact but this wasn't what he had in mind. 

"For being a bastard," she countered, sliding down into the water so she didn't have to cover herself with her arms. Trunks scowled at her half-ass reply, but secretly found the situation amusing as he looked down at her into the opaque water. 

"What the hell did I do to you, now? Hurt your self-esteem with my compliment?" he asked, sarcasm just pouring off of his deep, baritone voice. 

"It was for the best," Pan stuck up her nose the best she could while being looked down on. "You weren't at your senses, my   
'seasoning' or whatever you damn people call it was taking control of your brain," she told him matter- of-factly. Trunks laughed out right, but not exactly with her. 

"No mere female could 'control', as you put it, my advanced brain, little onna," Trunks laughed further causing Pan to become more angered by the minute. The water was now right below her pointed nose in embarassment and almost boiled with the heat radiating off of the raven-haired demi. 

"What," he smirked as he got down onto his knees, his cares that his spandex was soaking wet were now miles away. "Pan has nothing to say?" he asked more softly but with a layer of ridicule on the surface. 

'I hate that smirk' Pan decided. It was only as Trunks brushed the wet tendrils out of her eyes that she didn't feel all that angry   
anymore. In fact, it was kind of soothing....in an irritating way of course. All previous thoughts flew away as he took off a silver tipped glove and continued fixing her disheveled raven locks with his feather-like hands. 

"You're so easy, little onna," Trunks laughed lightly at her cat-like response, brushing her cheeks against his hand as if she was now nuzzling him, not the other way around. It was with that comment that Pan's eyes popped open, realizing what she had been doing. A flush broke across her features and tried to frown futilely to cover it up. 

"Well, you're not exactly 'mister fuckin' control' yourself," Pan snorted derisively as she referred to the painfully obvious bulge in his spandex. Without a doubt, from their current situation and her extremely scant state of dress. It didn't take much to guess where his thinking adventured. Pan involuntarily trembled at the thought. 

Eyes wide, Trunks-ouji opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. His own voice had failed him at the audacity the little female had! 

"What" Pan asked with a smirk, throwing it back in his face "Trunks has nothing to say?" she laughed with a remarkably good   
impression of the one he had aimed at her before. 

"You little wench," his eyes narrowed as she continued to laugh at him, still in his character. Growling deep in his throat, he wound his fingers around the top of her head and pushed her down into the water. When she had been down long enough, he pulled her up, shrieking and all. 

"I hate you!" she screeched, but before she could wipe the hair out of her eyes, he dunked her again. 

"That's not nice," he told her maliciously, a playful smirk adorning his features. His lavender tail lashed back and forth, splashing little droplets of water everywhere. Again Trunks brung her up for air. This time, Pan had taken the opportunity to bite his hand with as much strength as she could muster up. 

"You bitch!" he voiced as he waved his hand furiously, trying to rid of some of the sting. Pan frowned. 

"Well, you shouldn't of fucking dunked me!" she yelled, eyes alite with fire. Trunk's eyes narrowed as he bent down so they were nose to nose. 

"Address me with respect," the Saiyan growled. 

"No." Trunks blinked. 

"No?" he asked wickedly. He changed attitudes so fast it made her head spin. Opting to stay defiant, she crossed her arms beneath the water and turned her nose up, causing it to brush his. 

"No," her jaw was clenched. Before she could blink, Trunks swooped down and planted a kiss on her unprepared lips. 

_______________________________________________________________ 

"No!" 

"But Vegeta..." 

"I will not lower my daughter to such a......thing," he vociferated, but knew he was fighting a losing battle. 

"She wants to compete!" her hands lay on her hips in strong willed defiance "It will be all too obvious that her presence will be only for sport. If she were to win, Trunks would have to mate no one!" 

"Onna," he growled out in defeat. "the brat would need an heir eventually." Vegeta rubbed his temples as his mate coaxed him further. 

"But so did you, and look how things worked out!" she protested. 

"Yeah, stuck bonded to a lame-brain onna for all eternity. I do not wish that on ANYONE," he grinned wickedly at her outrage. 

"Lame-brain?! You didn't feel the same way twenty minutes ago," the cerulean haired genius purred seductively, catching the Saiyan Ou pleasantly off-guard. 

No, the Princeling was correct. His mother shouldn't have been able to walk years ago. 

_____________________________________________________________ 

Back on Chikyuu... 

As she gazed out the window, her heart ached out for her lost daughter. 

"Pan," she breathed out into the warm, summer night. It seemed the stars were frowning on her, for her daughter had yet to come home to her. It had been a full, agonizing twenty four hours since then. 

"-will be back," Gohan told her reassuringly, although his exterior betrayed his inner worries and ache, he saw it in his duty to console his unstable wife. Peeling off his work clothes, he folded the bedsheets back to prepare for use. 

"How can you say that?!" Videl outburst, standing up "our daughter is WHO knows where and all you can say is 'she'll be back'?" Videl began sobbing once more, and Gohan was sure to catch his wife as her knees became unstable. 

'Trunks' Gohan inwardly raged 'I will slowly and painfully kill you for this. Then, I'm going to wish you back to kill you again!' he thought furious to himself. Gohan had to postpone his rage as his wife wailed out a more sobs. For the rest of the unpeaceful night, they stayed like that, mourning over their lost daughter. 

'Come back, Panny' was the last thought that whispered lazily in his head before the torn Gohan drifted off into a dreamless sleep. 

=============================================== 

Next Chapter: Everyone is out looking for this....girl? A hundred million Zens have been set out alluring the interests of several Saiyans. Which Chikyuu-jin pair makes an entrance next chapter? 

All in "Aristocrats, Diplomats, and Dirty Rats" 

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SNFM: *bangs head against computer* I hate this! I can't stand this chapter. Nothing big happens and it's shorter than usual. The next chapter has some introduction of old characters and reintroduction of some newer ones (sounds backwards huh? No...it's correct) I'd like to thank Akana for Iming me on aim (mint had aim? GO FIGURE!), she got to talk to the real Stan. It's no coincidence, he's always here anyways. Haha, she thinks he's strange. I was going to reveal his sn but he would do me physical harm, eep :X. 

Another thing! Read Burenda's "Goteneo and Truliet". She's on a small *break*from her other fiction (which needs NO plugs..its got six hundred and fifty something reviews already @.@). It's not yaoi! I swear! It's when Trunks and Goten have to participate in a school play and.....well you have to read the rest. I laughed several times. -Mint 

------- 

Mintly: *inhales* *exhales* *inhales* 

Stan: *archs brow* What are you doing? 

Mintly: I'M TRYING not TO BLOW UP MY COMPUTER TO SMITHEREENS! 

Stan: What did it ever do to you? 

Mintly: It won't let me log in on fanfiction! I...don't know what's happening. Is my account being taken away? *sobs* 

Stan: *shushes her* It'll all be okay soon. 

-Mintaka n Stanayaro (what the H.F.I.L.? don't ask..) 


	8. Aristocrats, Diplomats, and Dirty Rats

(Chapter by Mintly) 

Disclaimer: *waves hands* I disclaim you! BE FREE DBZ CHARACTERS! *opens jars and watches chibis fly away* 

Thanks to: Kimi, PD (err...SHHH!), DR. SQUEE, MinMoot (Nope, nothing worth reading), Bunny, FrozenFlower, Sutaseiu, RiceC25 (look below *grins*), Embury, Syaoran's Blossom (LoL!), bLuE VeLvEt, Lady Tomboy (*throws plushies out to greenskins* Sleep!), Maddy, Saiyan Serpent (Aww..I don't need him until next chapter), NoNoMoon, Moonlight152 (Review, Kami, Review!), H4L (>:D), Veresti- How Do I Become Human (I'll email you again too), Rainymalamute, Burenda, AND Akana Akurei for reviewing the previous chapter.   
  
  
  


SNFM (ever notice how 'un-small' these things are contrary to name?): I was surprised some of you felt Trunks is a 'perv'. *grins* I wasn't expecting much of a response, let alone THAT kind of response. So for all of you who feel that way....... NYAH >:P! You're just going to have to accept it, because I will not change him! I may not be satisfied with my work, but I will NOT change it because you are unsatisfied with MY Trunks (yes, I created this version of him... he's mine! *thinks of all the money she could make on ebay or wealthy reviewers*). Constructive criticism is something completely different altogether and is VERY appreciated. I absolutely adore constructive criticism (even in flame form, so flame away!). 

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Chapter Eight "Aristocrats, Diplomats and Dirty Rats" (Part A)   
  


She was temporarily immobilized. Shock took over as her lips were being assaulted by none other than her 'ex-love'. All previous thoughts and doubts were tossed lazily out an open window as he pressed his concrete body against her very vulnerable one. Her senses reached new heights as her blood roared in her ears. She was barely managing to stay on her feet before the gap between them was filled. 

From perfectly masculine lips came an inviting warmth and moistness. She could faintly hear him as he released barely audible grunts as he closed the gap between them tightly. You would have thought he had been trudging through the driest of deserts for weeks on end by the way Trunks drank so greedily from Pan. Rapture, ecstasy, bliss. 

As Trunks released her roughly, his sparkling pale eyes looked into her widened blacks. She could have sworn they were a paler shade mere moments before and the predatory smirk that adorned his features made her shiver all over with an unrecognizable emotion. Pan gasped and the intense orbs of Trunks-ouji immediately went down to her moist parted lips. He couldn't help but delve down for another taste of the alluring Saiyan female before him.   
  


Like a bolt of lightening, a realization struck the Prince. Pan wasn't responding to his passionate kisses in the slightest. 

'What the hell? This has never happened before...' he thought, frowning inwardly. To make sure, he briefly flickered open both of his shut eyes to look into hers. What he saw before him scared the wits out of him. She was deep in thought. 

-------------------- 

'All right, one more time. First we were fighting, then yelling, then kissing....DAMMIT! I don't get it. How did this happen?!' Her thoughts were cut short as she felt her lips being torn away from the Saiyan's in front of her. 

"What exactly do you think your doing!?" he roared at her as if she had just committed a horrendous crime. Pan's eyes immediately shot to his and gasped to see that he appeared furious. 

"W-what?" she asked nervously backing into the small pool's wall. Something about the outraged look that flared in his overcast eyes frightened her. Putting one arm on the wall to her right he spoke slowly and emphasized each word. It was as if his demeanor had completely changed. 

"Stop," he commanded, no malice in his words at all. The fire of his eyes's inner flame had sparked into something completely different. Putting his other hand on the other side of her, he drifted near so they were barely touching. It was driving Pan absolutely insane being so close and yet way too far for her itching skin. Her body betrayed her as she reacted so very violently to his seductions. That was all they were, empty seduction to get her in bed with him, right? Shaking her head violently, her damp hair flew everywhere. 

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she shrieked at him, ducking further into the water. Being so nude and helpless didn't help the situation in the least. She knew she was trapped. 

"Why?" he breathed out softly, breath caressing her lips, her mouth, her cheeks. But still his bare skin did not meet hers. Pan's tail curled around itself as she saw how fluffed-out her counter-Saiyan's was. She didn't need to be a genius in Saiyan behavior to guess what that particular gesture meant and where his thoughts were leading. Opening and closing her mouth, she looked on in horror when nothing came out but a squeak. The once straight-lined mouth curved deviously into a smirk at her reaction. Swooping his head down to her neck, he inhaled her scent once more, breathing deeply. Pan knew then that she had to do something. 

"I h-HATE you!" she told him, trying to scowl at him but failing miserably. Trunks-ouji let out a low chuckle that brushed his chest against hers. Looking right and left, Pan saw no other escape and panicked. She pulled out her last resort. 

All at once she powered up, releasing a bright flare of golden light into the large, once-dimmed room. Being submitted to the extreme amount of light all at once, Trunks' highly developed sight was temporarily blinded. He shrieked as he shielded his eyes. What did Pan do? She got the hell out of there, being sure to grab a towel on the way out. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

"So, now everyone is looking for an onna, but only I know that 'an onna' is really THE onna," Radditzu hissed in irritation as he began walking unknowingly faster. His lead tipped boots clicked slightly on the tiled floors as they rhythmically met. 

"What about your uncle?" Romei chimed in, striding a little wider with his gruff friend down the vast corridors. They were each heading back to their prospective quarters after a long day of nothing but pandemonium and headaches. 

"Oh yes," Radditzu corrected himself with a light, dry smile. "He knows too." Romei let out a low whistle at the predicament he was stuck in. 

"So let me get this straight," Romei started, an eyebrow arched incredulously. "YOU know who it is Vegeta-ou desires and where to find her. Not turning her in would be withholding information from our King or, in other words, treason," both Saiyans cringed at the synchronized thoughts of how traitors to the crown were punished. Public tail removal was enough in word form to make even Vegeta-sama's eyebrow twitch at the mental image it brought about. "On the other hand," Romei said, pointedly shaking off the thought, "you have been given specific orders by the Queen to conceal Son, Pan's true identity, along with hiding her time.....spaceship..thing." Romei whistled once more and patted Radditzu on the back. What a dilemma. 

"If I'm not mistaken," Radditzu pointed out with a malicious smile, "your tail is in danger also, my friend." He spat out the last few words with venom. When Romei's tail wound itself around his waist, a hysterical questioning look came over his features. "You did assist me in the act. Fraternizing with the enemy are we?" Swallowing the lump in his throat, Romei tried to think good thoughts. 'Bloody murder, mouth watering food, that luscious little onna...' A dopey grin spread across his features at the thought and his tail involuntarily fluffed, causing a snort to emit from his neighbor. 

"Get your mind out of some poor female's fucking panties!" Radditzu sneered in disgust. Romei's cheeks darkened to a deep scarlet as he attempted to change the subject. 

"Look at all the Saiyans out looking for this onna." 

Radditzu nodded to the Saiyans rushing about even at near night. "This place is a FUCKING MADHOUSE!" he exclaimed. It was just at that precise moment, by pure coincidence, that a blur of flesh and raven black zipped by, leaving the two Saiyans   
blinking. 

"Was that-?" Romei's eyes looked as though they were about to pop right out of the sockets, roll around on the floor a bit, and hop back in. If his tail were fluffier, it looked like the hairs were going to jump out. Radditzu was in a very similar state as his friend, swallowing the forming lump in his throat. He absently nodded and knew their little secret wasn't going to be a secret for much longer if things kept the way they were. 

"Want to go get drunk?" he asked with the tiniest of higher octave in his voice. In response, all Romei could get out was a weak nod. 

------ 

"Where the hell is my room?" Pan thought in a frenzy, eyes darting back and forth in her flight. She had yet to cease her jetting down the hallways for fear of being pointed out. Barely noticing the Saiyans she passed by in a blur, Pan zoomed a little faster in hopes of reaching her destination quickly. 

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" she cursed out loud, searching for a safe haven for her scantily clad body. Turning a corner, her breath was knocked immediately out of her as she hit a rock hard wall. Wall? 

----------------------------------------------- 

Sleep. His body positively craved it after the horribly long day he had participated in. Tomorrow, he knew, was going to be lengthy as well, what with the diplomatic relations from Chikyuu arriving. It was so perfect for his fatigued state that his room was only a few doors down. So lost in his roaming thoughts, Bardock didn't even sense when a body smacked straight into his unexpecting chest. Quick in reflexes, the scarred Saiyan didn't even slide backwards as the 'thing' bounced off of his rock hard upper body. 

"What is this?" he demanded, looking down to where what appeared to be a scantily clad onna was rubbing her rear. 

"Get out of my way!" she demanded irritably kicking herself up to her feet. Grasping her by the shoulders firmly, Bardock frowned, seeing she had yet to meet his stare. 

"Kami, girl! If it had been anyone else your pretty little ass ran into, you would have been in deep shit," Bardock berated her, looking right and left. "Kami," he mumbled, more to himself than her. "Roaming around the palace in nothing but a towel! Onnas these days." It was at the exact moment that Pan decided to open her mouth that she absorbed who exactly she was prepared to yell at heatedly. 

"Another Grandpa?" she breathed out faintly before she had it, and dropped like a rock to the tiled floor. Looking around for anyone who might have witnessed the small scene and, seeing no one, Bardock sighed heavily and let loose a heavy string of curses. 

"Great! Just fucking dandy!" Bardock cursed to himself in frustrated weariness. "I should be paid for this kind of shit..." he growled under his breath. With that, Bardock carelessly slung the straight-tressed young woman over his shoulder and made his way back to his shared quarters. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Chikyuu...   
  


The light of early morning violently crashed through his blinds, announcing itself to a very awake lavender haired demi. He had been lying like this ever since the night of Pan's immediate departure. For uncountable hours, Trunks had been but a zombie, only reaching the outside world to eat (if that). If anything, Trunks Vegeta Briefs felt deathly guilty about the whole ordeal. Had he really been the reason that she left this dimension, as Goten had insisted? Even his best friend wasn't speaking to him because of the loss of his niece that ws Trunks' doing. 

'Have I really been that dense?' he asked himself lazily. Short lavender locks plunged off of the side of his quilt as Trunks stared pensively at the ceiling. 

If anything, Trunks was confused. Seeing Pan in such an independent, icy state had been a real eye opener for him. Had he always missed the gorgeous, brilliant woman that lay awaiting underneath the tomboy exterior? He wouldn't lie to himself. While absorbing her very visibly accentuated curves that simply burst out of her party dress, he had been caught admiring her. In fact, now that Trunks thought about it, Pan hadn't been a brat for a good many years. How could he have been so blind! 

A frown developing on his face, he played with the idea of himself holding a deeper attraction to the raven haired goddess. 

As if listening to his far less than holy thoughts, Gohan blasted Trunks' bedroom door clear off the hinges with a huge explosion of light. Eyes radiated pure, red fury as his shoulders hunched, trying to suppress his barely kept in rage. 

"Get. Up." Gohan commanded with acid venom dripping off of his voice. Eyes widening several degrees, Trunks automatically obeyed his best friend's brother's treacherously calm voice. 

"Hello, G-Gohan-san," Trunks choked out, trying to form a smile, but failing miserably. Before he could blink, Pan's father had ascended and his hands were encircled painfully around the demi's unprepared neck. 

"Where. Is my. Daughter," Gohan demanded, hot breath hitting him in the face. His intense aqua eyes never left the paleness of his own widened orbs. Trunks could feel the iron-like talons tighten, restraining the air flow. 

"I don't," his words came out slowly and muffled while being pushed further against the wall. Gohan was most likely creating a Trunks imprint in the less than soft wall. "Know!" he gasped out. 

"It's your fault she left, you son of a bitch!" Trunks had never heard Gohan use such language in his life. He attributed it to the state of insanity his 'friend' was currently being consumed by. Lightheadedness took over as the demi felt his throat being constricted once more. Trunks barely noticed his father's presence and his Mother's gasp. "If she's not back within the next week, you'll be wishing you had blasted off to who the hell KNOWS where Pan is instead," and with that Gohan was gone, passing a scowling Vegeta and a tearing Bulma. Sliding down the wall to the floor, Trunks coughed heavily, rubbing his neck softly. 

'I already do Gohan. I already do' he thought absently to himself. 

As immediately as Gohan exited in a huff, Bulma rushed over to where her distraught son was on his hands and knees trying to regain his regular breathing pattern. Quickly sliding down to her knees, she patted him on the back. Head turning slowly, his emotionless optics met her crystalline ceruleans. Bulma knew he was in pain, but strangely it seemed more so that his battle was internal rather than physical. Why would he be fighting himself? Brushing of the thoughts, she reminded herself to comfort her son. 

"Everything will be all right," she hugged him close. "I promise." 

'Even if I have to take matters into my own hands,' she thought to herself determinedly. It was several hours later that Trunks had been dominated by a much needed dreamless slumber and Bulma had headed down to her labs to reconstruct her latest project. Yes, things weren't currently, but would be all right if she had anything to do with it. 

---------------------------------------------------- 

The night before came in a blur. The raven-haired Saiyan stirred, stretching her arms lazily above her head. Her eyes didn't feel the need nor were ready to open yet, letting in the intense morning rays. 

Low, melodic humming. It flowed freely in the air, a crystal clear sound echoing from a female voice. Familiar, yet not recognizable. A hauntingly sweet, wordless melody that hit Pan straight to the core. 

A smell filled the air. The unmistakable smell of food! A scent that universally could NOT be mistaken. Eyes blinking open, Pan looked around, assessing her environment. She was in what appeared to be living quarters. 

"Oh!" came a low but feminine voice from behind. "You're awake!" Immediately whipping her head to what appeared to be a kitchen area, her eyes came in contact with a slender Saiyan onna. 

"Who are you?" Pan scowled fiercely at the female, attempting to look more mettlesome. The woman, who looked as though she was in her late thirties, shot Pan a wry smile, taking the strange food off of the cooking.....machine. 

"Sereri," she said as though it was the simplest thing in the world, "and you?" 

"Pan," she replied, arching a brow. 'How is it that Saiyans can carry only one name?' she thought to herself, genuinely intrigued. Pointing a long slender finger toward Pan, she spoke. 

"Those are mine," Sereri grinned at her, referring to the long gowned sleep wear. "I didn't think a simple towel was well suited for nightwear." The night before struck Pan like lightening and a heavy blush spread across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. 

"Oh," Pan smiled sheepishly. "Could you do me a favor?" she asked what seemed to be a very friendly yet stern Sereri. 

"Sure, I guess," she shrugged her shoulders flippantly, not being able to think of anything that the strange onna could ask her that would cause any harm. 

"How exactly did I get here?" Pan reached back her arm to scratch the back of her head in the spirit of Goku. 

"HEY MOM!" came a deep masculine voice from the door, interrupting the pair of Saiyan females. "Is breakfast ready?!" Radditzu yelled out as he entered the rather large living quarters. 

================================================ 

Next Chapter: Aliens arrive! (Chikyuu-jins) *gasp* We've got introduction of old characters here. What about Ruuka? (thought I forgot about her...HAH! NO WAY KAME!) 

All in: Part B! (yes another one).   
  


SNFM: I know this has been a long time, but I have been scrounging up for writing time. I even took a 'to hell with it' day by Burenda's suggestion. I'm ecstatic at the response I received from the last chapter. *counts on fingers* This should be going up today! This is for the constant pestering of Burenda on AIM (Mintpandabear *shiny smile*) and EMAIL that finally got this chapter out! She's even editing AND posting for me. Without her, this chapter would have never come out...eRrRRrrr. Thanks so much everyone, every creative review gets me going! -Mint 

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Mintly: *sips soda* A little more, Stan! 

Stan: *growls and throws more Saiyan lure on ground* Why exactly do I have to do this again? 

Mintly: Well, since she gave you back to me... I was thinking you might as well return the favor and help her catch a Bardock (who just happens to be currently in season). 

Stan: *lifts up a Saiyan lure* What the hell is this anyways? 

Mintly: *grins wickedly* You're holding it upside down... 

Stan: Oh... *flips around* OH! *blushes madly* 

Mintly: *cackles* I need everything I can get! 

-Mint n Stan 


	9. Aristocrats, Diplomats, and Dirty Rats ...

Ossu! Brenda speaking! Okay, this is the first chapter written by the new author of Wild Occurrences, that being me. Right off the bat, you'll probably notice a big difference in writing style. That's to be expected. I already know that I'll probably use a lot less swearing than Mintly did, as I consider swearing to be largely unnecessary to most dialogue and will only use it to make a point. I will also probably change a few of the character's name spellings (e.g. Radditz instead of Radditzu) as I am more comfortable with the ones I've been using. 

That said, I'll let you get on with the chapter! 

**_Aristocrats, Diplomats, and Dirty Rats_**   
**_Part B_**

"Mom?" Radditz's voice echoed faintly off the walls as he poked his head through the door of the living quarters. His eyes were immediately drawn to the straight tressed female sitting in the middle of his parent's bed. There was a moment of shocked silence as the two simply stared at each other, then Radditz snorted softly to himself. "Why am I not surprised?" he asked sarcastically, stepping into the room to glare accusingly at Pan as he folded his arms across his chest. "Everywhere I go, every time I turn around, there you are. Now tell me, is this just a coincidence, or is there a god out there somewhere who's taking a twisted delight in making my life a living hell?" With a growl of disgust and irritation, the wild maned Saiyan stalked over to a door that, once he threw it open, revealed a small room on the other side, which Pan just naturally assumed was the bathroom. Radditz grumbled a few more incoherent phrases and shut the door behind him, leaving the two females alone for the time being. 

"Well," Sereri cocked a curious eyebrow at the closed door, "that was weird..." Pan swallowed nervously when the other woman turned those inquisitive eyes on her, eyes that contained a hint of steel and a fierce determination. "You know," she said in a deceptively mild tone, "not many people get on my son's nerves like that. What exactly was he referring to?" The was an edge in her tone of voice that left no doubt in Pan's mind that she expected an answer, and _now_. 

A weak chuckle escaped from Pan's lips. "Well, umm... you see...." _Kami, what do I tell her? I mean, it's one thing to tell Bulma that I'm from the future and that I'm Goku's granddaughter, but telling a complete stranger is another thing entirely! Not like she'd know who grandpa is, anyway..._ Pan's mind jolted at the thought, suddenly remembering what Radditz had called out when he'd first entered the room. Mom. Sereri, who looked barely old enough to _have_ children, was Radditz's mom, and his uncle was that 'Turtles' guy. _Is everyone related to everyone else on this Kami damned planet?!_ her brain yelled at her as she sat there, staring dumbly at Sereri. 

Sighing with exasperation, the woman ran a hand through her hair, which Pan only now noticed bore a remarkable resemblance to Radditz's wild, spiky mane, sans the widow's peak. "You've obviously already met him," she stated, standing up and walking over to the food she was preparing. Tossing a few colorful... things... in with the rest of it, she watched it cook while she continued to speak to Pan. "And that meeting, or meetings, apparently didn't start off on the right foot. Now, are you going to tell me what happened, or not?" 

As Pan recalled exactly how her first meeting with Radditz had gone, a bright blush leapt across her cheeks and she ducked her head, staring at the sheets that covered her lower half. "Radditz found me injured after an... accident..." she began, deciding that partial truth would probably be the best idea in this situation. "We, er... didn't hit it off too well when I woke up in the regen tank. He slung me over his shoulder and tried to take me... someplace, I'm not sure where and..." The embarrassed flush on her cheeks darkened another few shades and Pan smiled weakly up at Sereri. "And I bit his tail." 

Sereri's eyes widened as a whole range of emotions played across her face. Incredulity, a wince of imagined pain, a brief flash of anger on her son's behalf, and, finally... hilarity. "You... you _bit_ Radditz's _tail_?!" she gasped, eyes twinkling with amusement. "No wonder he isn't happy to see you! Oh, Kami! Bardock's going to have a field day on this one!" Clutching her sides with one arm in a vain attempt to contain her laughter, the older woman used her other arm to lift the pan off the stove and set it in the center of the table to cool down. 

"Damn it, it's not that funny, mom!" Radditz's voice protested from the bathroom. After a few moments, the irritated warrior emerged from the facility, looking a bit cleaner and more alert, a conspicuous white bandage wrapped around the end of his tail. Seeing his mother's eyes go to the bandage and the grin on her face broaden, he scowled darkly and wrapped the furry brown appendage around his waist. "We only have white bandages. Lay off." 

Far from having the desired effect, his protests only seemed to cause Sereri to laugh harder as she set a few more items on the table. Growling in annoyance, Radditz stalked over to the table and sat down in one of the chairs, waiting impatiently for his mother to finish laying out the food. In the mean time, he fixed Pan with his obsidian eyes, leaning back as he did so in an attempt to make himself comfortable. "So, what are you doing here, anyway, little onna?" 

Drawn by the alluring scents of whatever Sereri had cooked, the raven haired demi slipped out of bed and padded over to the table, trying not to drool too much. Raising a hand to the back of her head, she rubbed her hair and grinned in the way her family was famous for. "I actually don't know," she laughed sheepishly. "I was trying to get back to my room and ran into some bakayaro when I turned a corner. I don't remember anything after that until I woke up here. Funny thing, though. He looked a lot like my grandpa!" 

"That 'bakayaro', as you call him, is my husband," Sereri snorted with amusement, seating herself at the table with the other two. "He brought you here last night, growling and cursing about senseless onnas who run around the palace in nothing but towels." As though that were a signal to start eating, both she and Radditz began to load their plates with food, and Pan quickly followed suit, her stomach telling her rather vociferously to get a move on with getting something inside her. Sereri was in the middle of lifting a forkful of the strange food to her mouth when she paused and gave Pan a scrutinizing look. _There's something about this girl... _"What's your grandpa's name?" she asked suddenly, hoping to catch the little onna off guard. 

"Shon Ghockuu," Pan replied absentmindedly through a mouth full of food. Whatever it was that the wild haired Saiyan woman had made, it was _delicious_, a combination of sharp, tangy flavors, subtle undertones, and an overlaying mixture of spices that left Pan's mouth tingling and her taste buds begging for more. A happy little sigh escaped her lips as she reached for the pitcher of... whatever it was, and poured herself a glass of electric green liquid. 

"Oh." Sereri blinked owlishly, then went back to eating, chewing the first bite contemplatively. She didn't recognize the name... Sun Gock Uu... so it was probably a mere coincidence that her husband reminded the odd Son Pan of her grandfather. For a moment there, she'd been afraid that the girl would say Turles! The thought elicited another snort of amusement from the Sereri. It wasn't that Turles didn't get around enough to have sired a brat or two... on the contrary! What Sereri found amusing was just the thought of one of his offspring having a brat of their own who'd turned out as reasonably tempered as Pan seemed to be and _without_ his ego. 

~*~ 

"You know what, Goten?!" the sniffling blonde half-screamed, half-sobbed at her spiky haired counter-part. "I don't even want to share a _room_ when we arrive!" With that, she allowed her head to droop and gave in to the tears that had been threatening to ungracefully tumble out of her crystal blue eyes. 

"Marron, I-I'm sorry!" he pleaded with her, making a move to grab her shaking hands. "I didn't mean it! I swear!" Sinking to his knees, Goten gave the half naked beauty the best puppy eyes he could muster up. Unfortunately for him, he had either underestimated the extent to which she was upset with him, or overestimated the power of his Son Puppy Eyes, because Marron deftly yanked her wrists out of his hands and slapped him with as much strength as she could muster. 

"AAHHHH!!!!!" Her open palm connected with Goten's Saiyan cheek and she screamed in pain as her soft flesh struck his stronger-than-steel skin, a few bones in her hand threatening to fracture under the pressure they'd just been put under. Whimpering through the pain, she clutched at the injured hand with the undamaged one and glared accusingly at Goten. 

"Marron!" Rubbing his cheek with one hand while fumbling for her injured hand with his other one, his eyes shone with the utmost concern for his girlfriend. "Let me look at that!" Unfortunately, he had barely gotten a finger on her before she darted away, quickly disappearing through the door of the bedroom that they _had_ been sharing. 

"Stay away from me, Son Goten!" she hissed over her shoulder with enough venom to poison a snake, allowing her frozen blue eyes to ice his spine with their frosty glare. 

"Marr-" Slamming the door with a slight whimper of pain, the blonde was no longer in view. "-on." It must have been at least an hour that he stared miserably at the door that separated him from his girlfriend. Contrary to the popular belief of his friends and family, Son Goten was no imbecile. Even so, with all the intelligence he could muster up, he still shouldn't piece together what had gone wrong between the two of them. She had been so happy with him on Chikyuu-sei - if you overlooked the extreme mood swings. He had come to believe that they would settle down and eventually leave the intergalactic interactions and communications life altogether, in a few years anyway. Oblivious to everything around him as he tried to puzzle out the events that had just unfolded, Goten didn't even notice the computer's audible warnings that their large craft was preparing to enter Vegeta-sei atmosphere, nor did he see the red lights flashing at him from the main console. No, the only color that was on his mind at that moment was blue. Pure, icy blue. 

~*~ 

Stunning. Gorgeous. Beautiful. None these words seemed to do the raven haired temptress that danced alluringly across the land of his dreams any justice. "Goddess-like?" Trunks grinned roguishly at the thought of the fiery spirited Son Pan being considered anything so demure and refined. Running through his mental list of descriptions, he searched for a word that would fit the seductive and dangerous beauty that taunted him from his dreams. 

"Minx," he breathed out approvingly with an absent nod. It suited her, he decided with a smirk as he lay nude in bed, not bothering to cover himself with the thick blanket that only heated his already sizzling body further. What was his problem? Was he becoming a romantic of sorts? Was he, the sole epitome of male Saiyan aloofness towards the opposite sex, falling prey to this particular member? "Never," the lavender haired demi hissed to himself, unsure of his own answers to the questions, yet not so weak to admit it even to himself. Snorting to himself, the prince smiled wickedly. _At least my neck remains bare of any mark, as does the shrew's,_ he thought with perverted amusement. 

So in tune with his own thoughts, he didn't even notice the shifty female enter his quarters until she pounced on his prone body. "Thinking about someone?" she purred rather forwardly, oozing with sexual suggestiveness as a triumphant smirk played on her dark features. She pressed herself against his fantasy-driven rigidity and Trunks was about to attack when he realized just exactly who was draped so lazily above his powered-up form. 

"Yes," he said curtly in complete honesty, an annoyed growl rumbling in his throat. Frankly, the Saiya-jin no Ouji had completely forgotten about his 'mistress' and the little disagreement they'd had only the night before. Trunks had thought that he had made his disinterest perfectly clear and that he did not wish to see her further, but it was painfully obvious now that he had overestimated her intelligence and underestimated the degree of subtlety he would have to use with Ruuka. 

Although she had heard the baritone growl emit from his perfectly masculine throat, she had mistaken it to be more of an encouragement and began to nip his shoulders and chest lightly with her delicate canines. He couldn't help it as an involuntary groan escaped his lips. It had been, after all, a great while since he had properly bedded a female. The built up stress and utter frustration was driving Trunks-ouji positively wild. 

"Don't tease," he scorned as he snatched her wandering hands firmly by the wrists. It never ceased to amaze the lavender haired demi how her hands could fit so comformatively into his single palm. Struggling against his hold, the spiky haired female hissed at him as if a cat had taken the place of the resourceful female above him. In response to her efforts, he swiftly flipped her onto her back and pinned her there with the weight of his body, watching intently to see how she would react to being held captive like this. He had no intention of playing her game, but it _was_ rather amusing to toy with her like this. A small smirk twisted his lips as he took in the infuriated gleam in Ruuka's eyes, and he inhaled deeply, savoring the feel of dominance. Then his eyes widened in shock. 

Her scent! From the now increasingly noticeable aroma she was emitting, she was mid-season! How could this be? She wasn't fertile the day before when he... He would have known! His eyes involuntarily darkened to stare at hers, and her eyes sparked with a knowing light as his discovery registered in her mind. Instinct began to take over, his body aching to take her, mate her... _bond_ with her! That last thought alarmed Trunks, his mind panicking even as his body began to act on its own. His arms crushed her feminine body to his masculine chest even as his mind screamed that what he was about to do was not supposed to happen! His body was guilty of treason but there didn't seem to be anything he could to do stop it. It was about him being male and her being female, and his body would not relent until it had fulfilled its painfully obvious desire. 

"Let go! You're hurting me," Ruuka demanded, whimpering from the pain of being crushed by the gorgeous beast atop her, inadvertently breaking the spell that held the prince's mind captive. 

Breathing rapidly, Trunks pulled away from her and let go of her hands. Thinking that he was simply complying with her wishes, Ruuka smiled and attempted to wrap her arms around the prince's sweat-slicked body. In one swift movement, the lavender haired demi rolled away from her and rose from the bed, standing to pull on a loose fighting gi that would conveniently conceal his excited state. _I've got to leave, NOW!_ his brain scream out to him, despite the headache caused by being so close to the deceivingly desired female. Cursing every vulgar oath in every language he knew - some that would make even his Mother flush... even though he had learned many from her - he daringly turned his head to look back at what he was leaving one more time. 

For a moment, Ruuka had panicked and almost cried out at the painful lack of closure, until his once pale eyes met hers in a striking stare. A smirk crept onto her features, thinking that she had captured him with a simple gaze. For many moments he critically observed her, every perfection and its accompanying caravan of imperfections. He opened his lips, and Ruuka knew that he was hers. 

"I want you out of here by the time I am back, or I'll have you convicted of breaking into the royal quarters of a Prince," he pronounced coldly, enunciating each and every word with slow, distinct syllables. With a wave of his hands, he was gone, leaving a furious, heart broken, and unsatisfied young Saiyan female alone in a suddenly cold bed. 

~*~ 

For purposes of chaos, I've given Goten his Goku hair style. 

Just so you know, I won't be updated Wild Occurrences nearly as often as I update Wish For The Past. WFTP is still my first priority, and besides which, WO is harder to write, since I've never written adult Goten, never written Pan at all, never written Marron, never written Bra, never written a romance before... you get the idea. ^_^ 

This chapter will be more similar to Mintly's writing than any other I write because Mintly had started to write this chapter, and I used what she wrote as a base. I changed it a _lot_, but she still laid the foundation. ^_^ 

If you wish to be notified of updates, either e-mail me and say so (make sure you specify that you want to be notified of Wild Occurrences updates) or leave your e-mail in a review and SAY that you want to be on the mailing list. If you don't actually say you want to be on the list, or you forget to leave your e-mail address, I won't add you. 

Questions, comments, constructive criticism, suggestions, praise... all of these are welcome! Please tell me how I'm doing in carrying on Mintly's work! 


	10. Everybody Loves Turles

Well, this chapter turned out quite differently from what I had planned. Of course, after I suffered a rather severe bout of writer's block that affected all of my work, I scrapped most of it and started over. I'm not disappointed in how it turned out, though. Actually, I think it's better than I was originally planning. ^_^ 

Disclaimer: I forgot a disclaimer last chapter, didn't I? *shrugs* Oh well, you all know I don't own DBZ. I would think that being female, American, and next-to-broke would be pretty big tip-offs, wouldn't you? *wry smile* 

Here's chapter ten! 

**Everybody Loves Turles**

"What the _hell_ is taking them so long?!" Vegeta-ou growled as he glared at the closed door of the space ship that had been sitting in the space dock for a full ten minutes without showing any signs of life. He was beginning to feel very tempted to just blast the damn thing open and drag the Chikyuu-sei diplomats out by their hair if they didn't get their butts out here. "My time is precious and not to be wasted waiting around like a fucking maid!" 

"Sir, perhaps they are experiencing a technical difficulty," Bardock suggested calmly, his arms folded across his chest in the image of utter self control. Oh, not to say that he wasn't feeling impatient himself! He just knew that _one_ of them needed to keep a level head here, and that sure as hell wasn't going to be the King. Patience was never Vegeta-ou's strong point. "Perhaps we should have the communications crew attempt to contact them and ask if they need assistance," he suggested, a light smirk crossing his lips. The humans, who were supposed to be there to 'help' the Saiya-jin in their diplomatic relations, would be more than embarrassed to have to accept help just getting off their damn ship. That was definitely not the way to maintain professional dignity. 

Apparently, the same thoughts crossed the sovereign's mind, because he smirked broadly in anticipation of ribbing the weakling humans about the one thing they prided themselves on - their superior technology. When they had first come across each other, the Saiya-jin had the greater technology by far, but in a shockingly short amount of time, Chikyuu-sei's scientists had brought their level of expertise and technology up to par with Vegeta-sei's standards, and had since outstripped them by far. It was one of the reasons that relations with the weakling humans were important to maintain. "By the way, Bardock, did you ever speak with your brother or your son about that non-classed onna?" 

"Ie," Bardock sighed, a scowl of irritation making itself clear on his features. "I returned to my quarters last night to get some sleep, as well as to speak with Radditz, but my son wasn't there and hadn't shown up by the time I woke and left to meet you here." Snorting his exasperation, he dropped his arms to his sides and flicked his tail in annoyance. "Knowing him, he was probably at a pub, too busy drinking himself under the table to remember where his tail's attached, let alone how to get back to his own bed. I haven't had time to track Turles down yet, since he doesn't share quarters with the rest of my family. In fact," he smirked derisively, "I'd be surprised if he was in his own bed at all!" 

"Ah, yes," Vegeta snickered. "Your brother's reputation is... quite well known. In fact, it's a wonder that he doesn't have any brats yet. I've been meaning to ask him how he accomplished that little feat." 

Bardock smirked and opened his mouth to say something in reply, but was cut off by the hiss of pressure seals releasing, the precursor to the ship's doors snapping open before the ramp descended. Schooling his mask to a professional indifference, the warrior once again folded his arms across his chest and calmly waited for the arriving diplomats to step off the vessel. He shot a quick glance at his king to see that his fellow Saiyan had likewise donned an expressionless mask, though to one who knew him as well as Bardock did, there was still a hint of impatience around the eyes. And who said Saiya-jin couldn't control their tempers? 

"Son Goten, if you don't hurry up and get those capsules and get down here, you're going to embarrass us in front of the Saiyans!" a sweet soprano voice drifted from the confines of the ship, distant enough that it was difficult for even Saiya-jin hearing to pick up. "It's your fault we're late as it is! Grrr... if you'd just had the sense to keep an eye on that control panel, you'd have known we landed nearly _fifteen minutes ago_!!" Despite the shrewish words that obviously came from her mouth, the woman who stepped off the ramp was the picture of serene calm and composure, and was a stunning beauty in her own right. Bardock eyed the silky blonde critically for a moment, disregarding her striking blue eyes, her gold-spun hair that allowed gravity to at it without a hint of any spikes whatsoever, or her well defined figure, instead concentrating on any threat she might pose to his sovereign. That was his job, after all. To protect Vegeta-ou. Besides, no onna, no matter their race or appearance, could compare to his Sereri. 

After a few moments of scrutiny, the spiky haired warrior dismissed the onna as non-threatening. Being a human female, there was no way in hell she was strong enough to even bruise a third class Saiyan, let alone either himself or his king - though he'd still be sure to read her power level in a few moments. As for technological means of injury, Bardock seriously didn't think there was any way she could hide anything in the tight fitting blue shirt and pants that might pose any threat to either Saiyan present. They were good, practical clothes, aesthetically pleasing without being provocatively so; definitely the kind of clothing a diplomat on a mission should wear. Nodding to himself Bardock turned his attention back to the ramp where, any moment now, he expected the other half of the diplomatic liaison to appear. 

"We're terribly sorry about making you wait, your Majesty," the woman greeted them courteously, dipping her head by way of showing her respect. She seemed to have no problem whatsoever standing in the ten times Earth gravity, which in itself was mildly surprising, considering that Chikyuu-jin were supposed to be an extremely weak race. "My partner was supposed to keep an eye on the console and notify me when we were about to land, but it appears that he was distracted." A spark of anger flickered in her otherwise icy calm eyes before quickly being suppressed. 

It was at that exact moment that the other diplomat decided to make his entrance. "Aww, come on, Marron! Look, I said I was sorry, all right? And you can't lay all the blame on me, since you weren't even _in_ the room!" Bardock's attention was now focused intently on the figure that was making his way down the ramp, his body slowly coming into the range of his vision beginning with a black-clad leg, then a short sleeved blue shirt that matched his counterpart's clothing and exposed his well developed arms and chest, and, finally, his head. 

"What the _hell_?!" Bardock barked, stiffening in shock as he saw just who the other member of the diplomatic duo was. His eyes locked on the boy's ebony orbs in a face that nearly matched his own, framed by a wild mass of hair that stuck out in every direction. Those eyes widened to their fullest extent when they fell on the older warrior, drawn by the man's outburst, and the boy, barely a man, opened his mouth to say the first thing that came to his lips. 

"Dad?!" 

The blonde's startled blue eyes snapped into focus on the man standing next to the king she had addressed moments before, mirroring her partner's surprise, and she, too, would have said something, if she hadn't been interrupted by the full bellied laugh that erupted from Vegeta at that same moment. 

"Hahahaha!! So Turles _did_ have a brat after all!" Vegeta-ou threw back his head and let loose with another laugh before turning to his companion with a fierce grin on his face. "After all, it couldn't be _you_, Bardock, now could it?" he ribbed slyly. "I didn't think you'd have the guts to go behind your mate's back after what happened that one time one of your brother's whore mistresses showed up at your quarters!" 

Despite all of his self control, the memory of that little... incident brought a slight blush leaping across Bardock's tanned cheeks as he shot a glare at the shorter Saiyan. "There was no need to bring _that_ up, Vegeta," he growled under his breath for Vegeta's ears only. The king, instead of being offended by being addressed so informally and impolitely, chortled wickedly at his head of the science wing and strategical commands looking so discomfited. 

Shifting his gaze from one Saiyan to the other, Son Goten lifted a hand to scratch the back of his neck in confusion. During the brief exchange, he'd picked up on the fact that this man was _not_ his father, despite the frightening similarities, but that left him bewildered as to how this man, this _Saiya-jin_, could look so _much_ like him and his father. Surely it couldn't be coincidence that their hair, height, basic build, facial structure - pretty much everything in general! - was almost exactly the same... but there couldn't possibly be a relationship! Goten was a _human_, for crying out loud! 

Oh, well, at least there was one thing he could clear up. King Vegeta had referred to him as 'Turtles's brat,' whoever that was, and Goten's pride in his family wouldn't allow him to be mistaken for the son of anyone besides his father. "Uhh, excuse me, sirs?" he interjected hesitantly. He was, after all, a diplomat, and manners were of the utmost importance on a mission such as this. "I'm afraid you must have mistaken me for someone else. My name is Son Goten, and my father's name is Son Goku. I've never even heard of anyone named 'Turtles,' for that matter." _Well, except for Master Roshi, the Turtle Hermit, but I hardly think they were referring to _him_! Roshi's son? Yuck!_ As an afterthought, he gestured to the petite onna next to him and added, "And this is Marron. We're the diplomats from Chikyuu-sei." He might have added a little emphasis to 'Chikyuu-sei,' making the point clear that he was fully human, but whether he was pointing this out to the Saiya-jin or to himself, he couldn't have said. 

"It's Tur-les," Bardock corrected, eyeing the boy suspiciously, as though to determine the veracity of his statement. He didn't know what to make of the boy. Give the kid a tail, and Bardock would be willing to swear to anyone that the brat was both Saiya-jin _and_ related to Bardock's family somehow. Yes, his keen eyes had noted that the young man lacked what most Saiyans prided themselves for having, and yet he was _still _convinced the brat had to have Saiya-jin blood - more importantly the Saiya-jin blood of Bardock's kin. The similarities were too overwhelming to ignore or dismiss as coincidence. Besides, humans just did _not_ have gravity-defying hair, not without the excessive use of hair gel, and Bardock's nose picked up no hint of any foreign substances in Son Goten's spiky mass of black. 

The only question was why he was a member of a diplomatic team from _Earth_. There were two possibilities in Bardock's mind. One, the boy had lost his tail somehow, be it by accident or as a punishment, and had somehow fled to Earth to live among the tailless ningen where he would be accepted as 'normal.' Bardock barely considered the other possibility, as it was even more unlikely than a Saiyan boy managing to sneak his way off Vegeta-sei and onto Earth undetected. The boy could be a half-breed, having been born on Earth and raised as one of its weakling inhabitants. Cross-breeding between species was expressly forbidden, except in special cases, and anyone caught was punished rather severely. The offspring, of course, were often killed or taken to the science department for further study, so Bardock was more than well informed on the few cases of inter-species reproduction that cropped up from time to time. He had yet to hear of a case where a half-breed had gone unnoticed for more than five years, and Son Goten was obviously well over five years old. Probably closer to the thirties or forties, judging by Saiya-jin aging standards. 

No, the idea of this boy being a half-breed seemed ludicrous to the scientist, but his logical mind couldn't completely discount the theory, either. Still, he leaned more heavily towards the rogue Saiyan attempting to integrate himself in Earth society as more plausible than a half-breed lucky enough to live _this_ long without being caught. Either way, Bardock intended to keep an eye on this 'Son Goten.' He also planned on paying a little visit to his brother after this meeting was over. Turles was the only one he could think of who might have fathered the brat, since Bardock knew he himself wasn't responsible and Radditz, his only surviving son, hardly even _looked_ at females since the death of his mate. That left Bardock's twin brother as the last option, since every other relation Bardock had was dead, and Sereri _certainly_ hadn't borne any children without Bardock's knowing about it. Kakarot had been their last, and that boy had died in his infancy. 

Of course, there was always the possibility that Goten was Turles's grandson, but that would mean that Turles had a child nearly as old as Radditz without anyone knowing. Again, it wasn't likely. While it was possible for Turles to have had a brat without Bardock somehow finding out, especially if that child somehow traveled to Earth and lived most of his life there, due to the strict genetic profiling all Saiyan babies underwent, it was highly unlikely that _two_ blood relations would slip by him unnoticed. 

Raking his eyes over the boy again, this time sizing him up as a potential threat, Bardock flicked his scouter on and took a power reading. After a few moments of beeping, the scouter finally settled on 5,000. The warrior frowned at that as he turned the device on the human woman who accompanied Goten. While 5,000 wasn't exactly all that powerful, it was definitely a lot stronger power level than a normal human should possess. Granted, there _were_ a few humans who had trained themselves nearly to Saiya-jin standards, or so Bardock had heard, but it seemed... unlikely that one of them would happen to go into diplomacy. _Unless, of course, they chose this boy specifically because he's stronger than most humans,_ Bardock smirked to himself, waiting for the reading on Diplomat Marron to finish. _The humans _do_ know that Saiyans tend to respect strength, and Vegeta-sei _does_ have a higher gravity than Chikyuu-sei, so a physically capable diplomat would have its advantages. Nonetheless, the fact that this Saiyan-looking boy happens to be stronger than a normal human does tend to support my theory that he isn't human at all._ *Beep* Bardock lifted an eyebrow as he read the scouter, then looked back at the blonde onna. 5,000. The exact same strength as Son Goten. That certainly explained why she had no problem with the ten times Earth's normal gravity, but it still surprised Bardock that an obviously human _female_ diplomat could match even a relatively weak Saiyan like Goten. 

"We obviously have a case of mistaken identity here," Marron inserted smoothly, using all the charismatic powers her voice had to soothe the suspicions about her companion. "I can assure you that I have known Goten my whole life, and my father knew both of his parents since they were children. It is simply a strange coincidence that he happens to bear a remarkable resemblance to one or more of your people, King Vegeta." 

"Hn," Vegeta grunted, swiftly glancing at Bardock to see if he had an opinion on the matter. Bardock expressed his thoughts on Marron's 'explanation' with a simple snort, too soft for anyone besides the king to hear. "Diplomat Marron is correct. There is nothing beyond circumstantial evidence to question the boy's identity. I assume, Bardock, that he was cleared before he came into the system?" 

"Hai, Vegeta-ou," Bardock admitted grudgingly. He had checked the backgrounds and identities of both passengers personally, although he had not seen any pictures of either, and everything had cleared the thorough security measures in place. 

Nodding sharply, Vegeta turned back to the two diplomats. "We will, of course, want to check Son Goten's background again. You understand, I'm sure." The two diplomats nodded compliantly, both confident in the knowledge that Goten _couldn't_ be Saiya-jin, and the king continued with the prerequisite load of diplomatic crap. "In that case, we would welcome you to Vegeta-sei, and thank Earth for its kind offer to help us sort out this bull shit with Romula-sei." 

Bardock lifted an eyebrow at the comment, but wisely chose to remain silent. While waiting for the diplomats to exit their ship, he had heard his sovereign's opinion on this whole mess many, many times. According to Vegeta, there was no 'mess' to be sorted through. The Saiya-jin has clearly been in the right to retaliate to an assassination attempt as they had, so this whole business with 'straightening things out' with the Chikyuu diplomats was an utter waste of time. Or so said Vegeta, anyway. Bardock didn't completely agree with him on the subject, personally thinking that the king might have gone a little overboard in slaughtering the entire planet. After all, it might have just been a radical faction that had tried to murder him and the prince. He had made these thoughts known to Vegeta, but the shorter warrior had just snorted. 

"On behalf of Chikyuu-sei and its people, we are pleased to be of service," Goten intoned, ignoring the impolite remark as he gave the sovereign a half-bow to complete the ritual. Once he straightened up, the unspoken formality of the moment dropped like a dead cat, and the spiky haired diplomat grinned broadly as he rubbed his belly. "So when do we eat?" 

Bardock narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the comment, but said nothing. There was nothing he could do at this moment except watch and listen as Son Goten continued to confirm his suspicions about the boy's heritage through his words and actions. 

"Spoken like a true Saiyan," Vegeta echoed Bardock's thoughts, a faint smirk on his face. "Earth must be training better diplomats." Neither Saiya-jin missed the elegantly lifted eyebrow of the blond haired beauty as she glanced at the two warriors, almost as though she was quite used to the comment but hadn't expected the Saiyans to also accept it as normal. Noting it and cataloguing the information in his small but growing list of evidence against Goten, Bardock silently followed behind the two diplomats as Vegeta led them out of the docking bay. "My mate and Queen, Bulma, has had the servants prepare two adjoining suites in the royal quarters for your stay. If you would like, I can arrange to have you taken there to rest from your arduous journey," Bardock smirked as he thought he detected a hint of sarcasm in his king's voice, "until it is time to eat." 

_I wonder how many times Queen Bulma made him rehearse that line,_ Bardock chuckled inwardly, being careful not to let it show on his face. The last thing he needed was to have Vegeta angry with him for apparently laughing at the most powerful Saiya-jin on the planet, especially in front of outsiders. _And what kind of threats she had to use to make him say it,_ he added to himself, taking a silent delight in Vegeta-ou's misfortune. Perhaps at a more appropriate time he could rib his friend and sovereign about the little display of _manners_, a thought that brought a faint smile to the warrior's lips. 

"Your hospitality is indeed generous, Vegeta-ou," Marron smiled warmly. "My companion and I would definitely appreciate being taken to our rooms, if it's not too much trouble." 

In response, Vegeta clapped his hands sharply, smirking with satisfaction as a pair of slaves promptly appeared almost out of thin air. "The diplomats from Chikyuu-sei would like to be taken to their rooms," he stated, making it clear that it was not a request. The pair of silvery skinned beings bowed deeply, then gestured for the two new arrivals to follow them. "Lunch will be in two hours," he added by way of farewell before the slaves led the pair away. 

Once Goten and Marron had vanished through a set of doors, Bardock turned to Vegeta. "If it's all the same to you, sir, I'd like to track down my brother and ask him some questions." 

"Of course, Bardock," the shorter Saiyan replied amiably. "You will inform me of any progress you make when we meet again to dine with the diplomatic liaison." 

"Of course, Vegeta," Bardock smirked, bowing as he did so. "By your leave." Turning on one heel, he swiftly paced towards another set of doors, having a good guess where he might find his brother. Yes, he definitely had some questions he wanted to take up with his twin, starting with a certain diplomat with a striking resemblance to their family, and ending with a non-classed female last seen in his and Radditz's company. 

~*~ 

When I started writing this chapter, I thought I'd have at least two separate and distinct scenes, if not three. In the end, I chose to retain Bardock's basic point of view for the entire chapter and integrated the first two of the three scenes I had planned. The other I'll save for next chapter. On the whole, I think it worked out rather well. Once I got past my writer's block, this chapter came out fairly easily. It's not action packed, I know, but I decided to take advantage of it in order to lay out some of the history and details behind this story - most of which were pre-planned by Mintly, she just never got around to writing them out. It was also tremendously fun to characterize Bardock. *grins* And Vegeta. 

Got an opinion on my characterization and anything that happened in this chapter? Got any suggestions for where to take the story? Got anything to say at all? Well, ff.net has conveniently placed that little review button down there so you can let me know. ^_^ Please do! *gives the readers puppy eyes* 

(Remember, there IS a mailing list. Leave your e-mail address in a review and SAY you want to be on the mailing list. Or you can e-mail me at brook_tamlin@yahoo.com and tell me you wish to be on the Wild Occurrences mailing list.) 


	11. History of Another Time

A/N: Realizing that I couldn't continue writing the story without knowing the history of the alternate timeline that Pan is in, I put aside what was originally going to be chapter eleven so I could write this. This will attempt to explain the history of the timeline and how it differs from the normal one. I hope I've cleared up a bunch of questions. Oh, and just because a character is mentioned in this history, that doesn't mean that character will appear in the story. 

Anyway, here's chapter eleven! 

Disclaimer: I'm feeling uncreative right now, so I'll just state that I don't own DBZ. 

**_History of Another Time_**

_When Pan used the prototype time machine, intending to travel to the past where no one knew her, something went wrong. Instead of the past, she was sent to an alternate present where Vegeta-sei was never blown up, her extended family was still alive, Bulma and Vegeta still got together, and so forth. What events led to this timeline's creation? How is the history of this time different, and how is it similar, to the reality that Pan came from? It all started long ago..._

In the last few years of Frieza's reign, few planets were targeted to be cleared, as he had his hands full just dealing with the growing problem of the rebellious Saiya-jin. Records of the planets on the schedule to be sold were poorly kept or lost, so it was no wonder that few people knew that, once upon a time, a small planet known by its inhabitants as Earth was on the list of planets to be cleared and sold. The people of Earth were relatively weak, so it was thought that a mere third class baby would be sufficient to handle clearing the planet. Taken from his mother soon after birth and placed in a pod with a course set in for the small, blue-green world, an infant Saiyan named Kakarot was assigned the task of clearing the planet of its inhabitants. 

Upon landing on this beautiful world, the baby was discovered by a kindly old martial arts master, who took the child in and raised him as his own, giving him the name of Son Goku. Unfortunately, the child was wild, untamable, and violent, and it seemed that nothing Son Gohan, the martial artist, did had any effect on him. 

Until fate took a hand in the matter. 

The Saiyan baby now called Goku fell over a cliff and suffered a severe head injury, wiping away all trace of his former identity and nature, leaving behind a sweet and loving, innocent and naive boy with an odd, fuzzy tail. And that was the end of the matter, as far as Son Gohan was concerned. At least until the first time Goku laid eyes on the full moon. Gohan witnessed his adoptive grandson change from child to monster under the moon's influence, then barely lasted through the night as the wild oozaru laid waste to everything around him. When the moon set, however, Goku returned to normal, without any memory of the incident. From that day on, Gohan warned the child to never look at the full moon. 

And so peace continued for a few years, until the night when Goku accidentally glanced at the moon and transformed once again. In his mindless rage, the transformed boy stepped on his loving grandfather, killing the old man without even realizing it. When the transformation ended and he woke up the next morning, he heartbroken to find his beloved grandfather was dead. 

Yeas passed as the boy continued to live on his own in the wild, until a fateful day when a human girl came searching for a legend, a myth that she intended to prove was no myth. Seven magical balls lay scattered around the world, balls that, when gathered together, would summon a mighty dragon and grant someone one wish. As it so happened, Master Gohan had left such a ball in the care of his adoptive grandson, and so Bulma's Dragon Radar led her right to the home of Son Goku. The two became friends and joined together on the quest to find the seven magical balls, making other friends and having many adventures which will not be recounted in this history. 

Towards the end of that first hunt, Goku, Bulma, and their new friends Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong were all captured by a blue midget of a self-proclaimed emperor named Pilaf, who was also determined to use the dragonballs to grant his own wish. During the night, while the five were imprisoned and waiting to die, Goku happened to look at the full moon and transformed for the third time in his life. He broke free of the prison and laid waste to the castle he and his friends had been held in, and he would have killed his friends in his mindless rage, had they not cut his tail off and returned him to his normal form. 

Goku's tail never grew back. 

Realizing that it was really Goku who had killed his own grandfather, Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong, and Puar all vowed never to tell their friend the truth. At least, not until he was old enough to handle it. It would have broken the poor boy's heart to know he had killed the only family he had ever known. And so Goku grew up thinking that he was just like everyone else, except that he had once had a tail. 

Time passed, and Goku was taken in by his grandfather's own master, the Turtle Hermit Master Roshi. Together, he and his newfound friend Krillen participated in the Tenkaichi Budokai, where the young Saiyan made it all the way to the finals. He almost didn't make it past one of his earlier matches, where a dinosaur-like opponent trapped him in an odd, gummy substance, bu through sheer determination and quick thinking, he bit his way through the bonds and beat the other competitor. His opponent in the finals, an old man named 'Jackie Chun', managed to defeat the young Saiyan, although it was a close thing. No one noticed the full moon in the sky, and without his tail, Goku didn't change into an oozaru. 

Life continued on and the Saiyan boy grew, still enjoying many adventures and becoming ever stronger.   
  


In the mean time, Earth and the Saiyan sent to conquer it were forgotten by the Planet Trade Organization. Soon after Goku had been sent to Earth, the Saiya-jin rebelled and sought to end the reign of Frieza. Many records were lost or damaged, and no one was ever sent to follow up on the progress of the infant Kakarot. His family naturally assumed that he had died and, eventually, all but forgot about him. In order to quell the uprisings on Vegeta-sei, Frieza killed King Vegeta and placed the king's young son, Prince Vegeta, on the throne. He had toyed with the idea of destroying the planet then and there, but had changed his mind on a whim. The Saiyans were still too weak to pose a challenge, and with the death of their stubborn king, the Ice-jin tyrant hoped to eke a few more years of usefulness out of the proud race. He hoped that he could influence the child king and manipulate the Saiyans through the young Vegeta into continuing to do his will. 

This worked fairly well for about fifteen years. Although he was young, Vegeta was not stupid. He played along with Frieza's plan, all the while training to become stronger, strong enough to defeat the lizard tyrant, free his people, and avenge his father. Upon reaching adulthood, he still was not strong enough to stand a chance against Frieza, though he was by far the strongest Saiyan at the time. However, pride leads people to do stupid things, and during one of Frieza's visits to Vegeta-sei the young king launched his attack, determined to rid the universe once and for all of the being that had plagued his people and held them in thrall. 

Vegeta-ou did surprisingly well in his attack, nearly defeating the tyrant even after he had transformed two times. The constant training and battle that he had undergone his entire life had increased his strength to the point where he was at least a threat to Frieza's continued existence. Unfortunately, it was Frieza's last transformation that was the king's undoing. As strong as he was, he was no match for the Ice-jin's final form and was defeated with ease. 

Instead of simply finishing his victim off, Frieza chose to toy with Vegeta-ou, rubbing his face in his defeat. Vegeta had convinced the tyrant that the Saiya-jin were becoming too strong, and so must be exterminated. With the king of the Saiyans watching helplessly, Frieza formed his Death Ball, gloating over his victory the whole time. While gathering the ki for his attack, the Ice-jin mocked his fallen foe, claiming that the young king was to blame for the impending destruction of Vegeta-sei. After all, if Vegeta had only been a good little king, had obeyed Frieza and not rebelled, none of this would have happened. 

It is uncertain exactly what went through King Vegeta's mind during those critical moments, but something in him snapped and a transformation unlike any seen in a thousand years or more took place. His hair changed from black to a bright golden yellow and his eyes became a pupilless sea green. With this transformation came incredible power, and the King of the Saiya-jin launched himself once more at the hated Ice-jin tyrant. This time, the battle turned in Vegeta's favor, and he overpowered his adversary and ended the threat to his people once and for all. 

With Frieza's death, the Planet Trade quickly fell apart, making it no longer worthwhile or necessary to exterminate the life on the planets the Saiyans encountered. Vegeta-ou chose instead to make... 'peaceful' contact with the other civilizations, opening up trade and cultural growth. Of course, his idea of 'peaceful' meant not destroying the planet on sight or slaughtering the inhabitants for the hell of it. The Saiyans were still a very war-like race and loved to battle, after all. Often as not, they used physical strength to 'persuade' the worlds they encountered to cooperate. 

It wasn't long before the Saiyans rediscovered Chikyuu-sei. As part of a diplomatic contingent sent to hammer out the details of the treaty between Earth and Vegeta-sei, Bulma Briefs boarded a ship and traveled to the Saiyan home world where she met King Vegeta. It is unclear what happened between these two, but before the human diplomats returned to their home, Vegeta-ou took Bulma Briefs as a mate, and so she became queen. 

Under Queen Bulma's influence, relationships with other worlds quickly improved. The Saiyans settled down to sparring amongst themselves, rather than waging war and conquering planets. Earth was declared a "safe" planet, where no Saiyans were allowed to live and few were allowed to visit, unless they had proper identification and were kept under strict surveillance. As closely as the humans resembled Saiyans, it would be all too tempting for tailless Saiyans to try to live on Earth, and with their superior fighting ability, they could easily cause a lot of damage before they could be captured. Not to mention the added difficulty in maintaining species purity if they decided to mate or rape any of the humans. 

During the time after his friend Bulma traveled to Vegeta-sei, Goku married Chi-Chi and produced a son named Gohan, after his adoptive grandfather. Yamcha, feeling that the woman had a right to know, informed Chi-Chi of Goku's heritage, so she was well prepared for the fuzzy brown tail attached to the backside of her newborn son. The doctor who helped deliver Gohan was a good friend of the family, and complied with Chi-Chi's request to remove her son's tail, promising not to tell a soul. They all knew that if anyone ever found out that Goku was a Saiyan, it would surely mean his death. 

And Goku still had no idea that he was not human. 

Gohan grew up, also believing in his humanity, and things continued peacefully for several years, father and son training together. Chi-Chi made sure Gohan also got a good education, but Goku had convinced her that if a rogue Saiyan ever came by, their son would need to be able to defend himself. He was completely unaware of the irony of his plea. Then one day, Goku's past came back to haunt him in the form of two deadly androids, creations of Dr. Gero, numbered nineteen and twenty. In a bid for revenge against the one who had defeated the Red Ribbon Army, Dr. Gero, also known as Android Twenty, attacked Goku's family and killed Chi-Chi. In their grief stricken rage, both Goku and his son Gohan underwent a strange transformation, where their hair turned yellow and their eyes a solid blue-green, gaining a tremendous amount of power. Goku later attributed this odd transformation to be the same as what happened to his friend, Lunch, whenever she sneezed - only their transformation could be controlled and didn't rely on sneezes. 

With the power of Super Saiyan on their side, Goku and Gohan quickly destroyed Android Nineteen. Unfortunately, Android Twenty escaped, and since he had no detectable ki, they soon lost him. And that was the last they heard of Android Twenty. Unbeknownst to them, Dr. Gero, or Android Twenty, returned to his lab and reactivated two other androids, despite the fact that they were unpredictable and had caused him much trouble in the past. Much to his dismay, Androids Seventeen and Eighteen destroyed the controlling device he had created to keep them in line, then rebelled against him and killed him. Knowing full well that they had been created to destroy, the twins chose to thumb their noses at their creator in an ultimate gesture of defiance - they chose to live peaceful lives. 

Not knowing that Dr. Gero was dead, Goku and Gohan trained almost feverishly, choosing to put off a search for the dragonballs. Chi-Chi would not be safe until the android was defeated, and to do that, they would need to learn to control their new forms. Traveling to Kami's Lookout, they received permission from Kami to train in the room of Space and Time, where they spent the better part of a day learning to use the power of Super Saiyan to it's fullest potential. 

While the two were training, a visitor from another timeline appears, a creature known as Cell, searching for the two beings who would make it complete: Juunanagou and Juuhachigou. When Goku and Gohan reappeared, they discovered a new ki on the planet and promptly took off after it. Upon arrival, they found Cell, Juunanagou, and Juuhachigou locked in deadly battle, the former gaining the upper hand over the latter two. At first, the two Saiyans didn't know which side to fight on, but Cell's natural tendency to gloat revealed his true intentions, and Goku and Gohan attacked before the imperfect being could absorb either of his victims. In Cell's imperfect state, he was no match for the two Super Saiyans and was eventually beaten, though the battle was long and hard, with all four working together. 

After the battle's inevitable conclusion, the four quickly departed before authorities sent to investigate overly high ki sources could arrive. The pairs split up, Son family going to collect the dragonballs to bring their beloved Chi-Chi back, and the android twins going to find a place to live in peace, making vague promises to contact each other again. After Chi-Chi's resurrection, the Son family celebrated with a huge feast, inviting their friends over to celebrate with them. Surprisingly, Juunanagou and Juuhachigou both showed up to the event, though know one ever figured out how they found out about it. That night, Son Goten was conceived. 

When Goten was born, Chi-Chi went through the same process of concealing his heritage from his father and the world in general. She felt a little guilty about hiding it from Goku, but the Saiyan was sometimes a little too careless with information. And so Goku continued to remain ignorant of his ancestry. 

Sometime after the get-together, Krillen and Juuhachigou married, eventually producing a blond haired baby girl named Marron. Gohan was sent to a high school in a city called Satan City. The city had been named after the reigning World Tournament champion, who had also somehow managed to claim credit for the disappearance of the monster Cell who had terrorized the world seven years earlier. Why anyone believed him was a mystery known only to the Kais. Well, maybe not even them. 

While attending school and trying to keep as low a profile as possible, Son Gohan met the daughter of the World Champion, a girl named Videl Satan, who would eventually become his wife. Together they would conceive and raise a baby girl named Pan. Before Videl married Gohan, though, Chi-Chi let her in on the secret of her husband-to-be's Saiyan heritage. When Pan was born, her tail was also removed before the father found out. 

Elsewhere in the universe, Bulma had finally convinced her mate to allow her to bear his children and now had two children, a purple haired boy named Trunks and a blue haired girl named Bra. At first, Vegeta-ou had resisted fathering half-breed children, since half-breeds were known for their inferiority and pathetic strength. Through scientific means, Bulma provided the king with proof that the exact opposite would occur in a Saiya-jin/Chikyuu-jin cross, where the offspring would be stronger than either parent's race normally produced. Vegeta-ou consented, and thus produced the heir to the royal throne. However, he patently refused to even entertain the idea that his demi-Saiyan children could possibly achieve the status of Super Saiya-jin, and so the children grew up believing that such was impossible for their kind. 

Goku continued to lead a quiet life in the woods, training in remote areas to avoid attention, sometimes joined by his two sons. Gohan became a professor at the Orange Star College, while his wife, Videl, occasionally helped the police out with criminal activity, which was where their daughter Pan had chosen to serve. Goten and Marron both joined the diplomatic corps, where they began dating on and off even as they became one of the best diplomatic teams in their department. Since Marron had learned some martial arts from both her parents, she and Goten could sometimes be found sparring together. It was because of this training that the two could be sent to planets with high gravity, or violence-prone inhabitants, and they were often given the more dangerous assignments due to their skill and strength. 

And yet somehow throughout all this time, neither the Son males or the authorities ever realized that these three men had Saiyan blood in their veins. Videl eventually told Pan, so the girl would be prepared should she ever bear children, but that was where the secret ended. 

Perhaps Kami, or a being with more power, was looking out after this family. No one will ever know. 

Details Not Mentioned In The History

1) Goku never died, so he never learned Kaioken from King Kai.   
2) Bulma left before Goku married Chi-Chi, and so has no idea that he had any offspring.   
2) Goku never left for Namek, so he never picked up the heart virus.   
4) Goku never went to Yardrat, so he never learned Instant Transmission.   
5) Piccolo never merged with Kami and no one ever met Dende.   
6) The dragonballs only have one wish.   
7) Majin Buu (and related characters) never show up.   
8) GT does not occur in this timeline. 

~*~ 

A/N: For anything else that I've left out or might have messed up... either it will be explained later, or chalk it up to the fact that this IS an Alternate Universe! I've tried to explain everything and fill in all the holes as best I can, which was pretty hard considering I'm not the original author of this fic and didn't already know all this stuff. I had to make it up to fit what was already written. Hope I didn't miss something important, and I hope I did a good job clarifying the history of this alternate timeline. 

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	12. Questions and Answers

Yes, I'm late, I know. I've been late on all my stories lately. This summer has been crazy, what with ff.net going down, tons of family coming to visit (brother and his family, sister and her family, then another sister and her family), writer's block, and a bunch of other little factors. In fact, I still have family visiting, and I'm going job hunting. Both are time consuming. But none of you want to hear about my problems. You just want to read the next chapter. =P So, here it is! 

Disclaimer: Bet you didn't know this, but I'm really the daughter of Akira Toriyama! When he dies, I inherit it all! Someday I'll own DBZ! But until the old man croaks, I don't own anything. =P (And for you lawyers out there, I'm being completely facetious here!) 

**_Questions and Answers_**

Bardock had two hours before he was expected to show up for the meal with the diplomats, and he intended to use them well. He needed to talk to both Turles and Radditz, but since his brother had not only had contact with the mysterious onna, but might also have a direct relationship to the suspicious diplomat from Earth, that was who he was going to track down first. Besides that, Radditz tended to be easier to find, and was less of a pain to deal with. Talking to Turles was usually grounds for a headache for the rest of the day. 

As he walked down the hallway leading to the first class training facilities, he could only be grateful that he knew his twin well enough to know that Turles was most likely to be found training at this time of day. It made things a lot simpler when you could narrow the search down to a specific quarter of the palace, instead of, say, the training gyms, the cafeterias... and every damn onna's bed on the planet. 

Upon reaching the first of the sparring rooms, Bardock nearly smiled as he walked in. Fate must have turned her kind face in his direction, because there was his brother, the familiar face framed by spiky black hair furrowed in concentration as he sparred with some other Saiyan male that Bardock didn't recognize. Turles obviously had the upper hand in the battle, a faint smirk playing on his lips as he easily dodged a fist aimed for his gut, returning the favor with an elbow jabbed into his opponent's side. The two continued to exchange blows as Bardock studied the fight, unnoticed by combatants and spectators alike. 

_Cocky, arrogant bastard..._ he snorted to himself. Turles was no longer even taking his sparring partner seriously and was now simply toying with him. _One of these days, you'll run into an opponent who'll use your overconfidence against you, and then where will you be?_ A small smile crept across Bardock's features at the answer to his question. _In a regen tank, of course. Or just plain dead._

Finally tiring of watching his brother play, Bardock folded his arms across his chest and inhaled slowly. "Hey, Turles!!" he barked sharply, smirking with an inner glee as Turles's head snapped up in a startled reflex, his concentration completely broken. The Saiyan who'd been sparring with Turles wasted no time in taking full advantage of his opponent's momentary inattention, grinning wickedly as he connected a powerful punch with Turles's jaw. 

Turles's head snapped back from the impact of the blow and he stumbled as he tried to regain his balance. Swiftly bringing his head back to face his foe, the spiky haired warrior lifted a hand to wipe a trickle of blood from his lip. The sight of the blood only seemed to enrage him further, a dark light dancing behind his cobalt eyes, and he snarled, "Fucking asshole!" 

Quick as lightning, the angry Saiyan's fist rammed itself in his unfortunate opponent's belly, knocking the man clear across the room and into the wall with enough force to leave a considerable dent. Without another glance at his fallen enemy, Turles growled and stalked over to where his brother stood smirking, fists still balled as though prepared to strike. "Mother fucking bastard!" he shouted when he was inches away from Bardock's face. "You did that just to break my concentration!" 

Snorting lightly at the irony of his twin brother calling him a bastard, Bardock lifted an indifferent eyebrow and shrugged. "So what? You shouldn't have been so focused on the fight at hand that you could be caught off guard like that." Unfolding his arms, he placed his open palm on Turles's chest and pushed firmly to get the other man's face out of his own. "And I wouldn't toss that particular insult around too lightly, Mr. I Bed Any Onna Who's Willing!" 

Arrogant Turles may be, even a little vain, and definitely on the perverted side, but stupid he was not. He caught that insult, as well as the full connotations it carried, and he was _not_ a happy Saiyan! "Fuck off, ototo-chan!" he sneered, batting Bardock's arm away from his chest. "Unless you have nothing better to do than interrupt my training!" 

Bardock gritted his teeth, inwardly seething at the filial reference. It was basically true, since Turles had been born a few minutes before him, but the older of the twins used the term as a way to mock Bardock and assert 'superiority', not as an endearment. Not to mention just to get on Bardock's nerves - Bardock _hated_ being called 'ototo-chan', and Turles knew it. "Actually, I _do_ have better things to do with my time! Unfortunately, I can't do any of them until I talk with you, Turles," he growled. Turning his head to glare menacingly at the other Saiyans in the training room, he barked. "Out!" Much to his satisfaction, the room quickly emptied of its occupants, leaving only himself and his brother. 

As the last of the first class soldiers filed out, Turles grabbed a towel and started wiping the sweat off his well muscled body, shooting a few glares in his twin's direction. "Well, what do you want, little brother?" he growled irritably, annoyed that the confrontation would be dragged out a little longer. "Surely you-" 

"Shut up," Bardock cut in abruptly, his voice deadly calm now. Surprisingly, Turles didn't protest, although his lip did curl into a sneer. "I'm here to talk to you about your fucking habits, in the very literal sense of the term." Turles blinked. This was _not _what he had expected in the slightest. "You want to know what I saw today, Turles?" the younger Saiyan continued before his brother could interject a comment. "Vegeta-ou and I met the diplomats from Chikyuu-sei today. One of them was a normal, Earthling onna, stronger than most, but still Chikyuu-jin. The other," he paused for emphasis, carefully gauging Turles's reaction, "was Saiya-jin. He wouldn't admit it, of course, but there were too many Saiyan traits to believe he was human. Give him a tail, and he would have no trouble passing for one of us. I highly suspect he lost his tail or had it removed as a punishment for something, and that he's been hiding out on Earth and passing himself off as human." 

"Yes, yes," the elder of the spiky haired duo growled impatiently and tossed the soiled towel into a laundry bin. "So you've found a Saiyan exile pretending to be human. Good for you." His voice veritably dripped with sarcasm, and the glare he gave his brother could have melted glaciers in seconds. "So what does this all have to do with me and my - how did you oh so eloquently put it? Oh, yes. My 'fucking habits'?" 

Narrowing his eyes angrily, Bardock raised a hand and pointing one finger at his brother's chest. "Only that the brat could have been the spitting image of you a few decades ago, Turles." When Turles's eyes widened fractionally in surprise, Bardock smirked faintly, glad that he had finally got the other Saiyan's attention. "The hair, the eyes, basic build - there's no mistaking it, Turles. I'd swear on our father's soul that the brat was related to us, which is where we get into your sex life. There's only three males left in our family, _brother_, meaning it was either you, Radditz, or me who's been sleeping around carelessly and not keeping tabs on the onnas involved." _Meaning that it was _you_ who sired Son Goten or his father, since we both know how likely it is that either Radditz or I crawled into some onna's bed._ Bardock was beginning to doubt that Goten was Turles's son after he had thought about it for a bit and was beginning to think that perhaps the boy was actually the grandson of Turles. Goten _had_ claimed this 'Son Goku' as his father, not Turles, and the other diplomat _had_ corroborated the story. Unfortunately, that would imply that there was at least one other Saiyan, if not more, living undetected on Chikyuu-sei for who knows how long. Either something was seriously wrong with the planet's security, or these Saiyans were just very lucky, but either way a search would need to be undertaken to track down and kill or extradite them. Since most humans were too weak to face off against a Saiyan, this would mean that Earth would need Vegeta-sei's help, which would mean more bureaucratic red tape. Vegeta-ou would _not_ be pleased. 

Anger flashed across the face that could have been Bardock's mirror image, and Turles balled his hands into tight fists. "So you're saying I haven't been keeping track of the females I bed? Is that it?! Little brother, I am most careful to make sure I never have any offspring that I don't want, which, in case you're wondering, is _any_ offspring! I don't need a damn brat on my hands! I won't accuse _you_ of being this mysterious Saiyan's father, since your mate has you so whipped you wouldn't dare lay eye on another onna like that, but maybe Radditz hasn't-" 

"You know as well as I do that Radditz never slept around, Turles! Not during the time frame I'm guessing this brat must have been conceived in. Radditz was and had been mated to Sala for several years, during which time he never laid eyes on a woman with even the slightest bit of interest, and after Sala died, I don't think he's had even the slightest inclination to hop in another onna's bed, so it's not bloody likely that he fathered any children." 

"Fine, fine!" Turles conceded wearily with a hint of impatience, rubbing the bridge of his nose as though he had a headache. "So I'm the most likely suspect. I'll ask around my old bed mates and find out if one of them had a brat. How old did you say this boy was?" 

"I didn't check, but he looks like he's in his thirties or forties." _Great. I got him to at least admit it might have been him, so now he'll start looking, too. That's one question down, one to go._ "Much as I'd like to let you get busy searching for the female you got pregnant, there's one other thing I need to know." The scientist could feel a headache coming, probably induced by the prospect of trying to drag more answers out of his twin brother, and he lifted a hand to rub the bridge of his nose in an unconscious mirror of his own brother's actions. 

"Anything to get you to leave me alone, ototo-chan," came the caustic reply, accompanied by a glare from the older twin. Becoming aware that they were both rubbing their foreheads, Turles snatched his hand away and scowled as though it had betrayed him. "Just make it quick!" 

Deciding to get this over with as quickly as possible, Bardock asked bluntly, "Do you know where the non-classed female is who was last seen in the company of you and Radditz?" 

~*~ 

"Not to pry or anything, but "Pan" doesn't sound like a Saiyan name..." Sereri was now washing the dishes from the meal while Pan and Radditz sat back in their chairs, letting their stomachs settle. Setting a newly cleaned pan in a rack next to the wall, she glanced at her strange guest to gauge her reaction. 

"That's because it's not." For some reason, Pan felt like she could trust Sereri, and she figured that since Radditz was her son, the Saiyan woman would find out from him sooner or later. "It's a human name." An irritated mutter brought her attention back to Radditz, who was looking rather annoyed with her for some reason. _Huh. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he didn't intend to tell Sereri... Damn. Too late now._

"Human?" Sereri asked, half curious, half suspicious. "Why would you have a human name, Pan?" 

"It's because she's demi," Radditz cut in with a scowl. Pan stuck her tongue out at him, which earned her a menacing growl from the wild maned Saiyan. "Part Saiya-jin, part Chikyuu-jin." 

Dishes momentarily forgotten, Sereri turned to face the pair, a look of surprise on her face. "You mean, like the prince and princess?" she asked incredulously, eyebrows arching to her hairline as she absentmindedly reached for another dish to dry. Radditz nodded. 

"Actually, I'm only a quarter Saiyan," Pan admitted, folding her arms as though to dare either of them to call her weak for being less Saiyan. "I got my Saiyan blood from Grandpa Goku." Her face fell as she thought back to the last time she'd seen her grandfather, that day so many years ago when he had disappeared on the back of the Eternal Dragon. Kami, she missed him! 

"Goku is not a Saiyan name," Radditz stated firmly, a suspicious frown crossing his features. 

"Are you calling me a liar?" A low growl emerged from the raven haired demi's throat and she narrowed her eyes threateningly. "For your information, Goku is the name he grew up with, not his birth name." 

Smirking in the way of a wolf about to go in for the kill, Radditz arched a skeptical eyebrow and crossed his own arms. "Then he is purposefully hiding his identity? Is he a criminal, Son Pan?" he goaded, trying to elicit an unguarded reaction from her by rousing her ire. Briefly glancing at his mother, he tried to communicate with that one look that she should not interfere with this. 

"MY GRANDPA IS NOT A CRIMINAL!" Pan screamed, anger dancing hotly in her eyes as she glared at the man who would dare accuse her grandfather of such a thing. How dare he! He didn't even know Goku, and he was claiming that he was a criminal! 

"Then what is his Saiyan name?" Radditz challenged. "If he is not a criminal, then there should be no problem in telling me his Saiyan name, right?" The smirk on his face broadened as he sprang the trap of words he had been weaving. Either Pan's grandfather was a criminal and needed to be extradited from Chikyuu-sei for proper punishment, or he was simply an exile with nowhere else to go. Once he knew a name, he could search the exile and criminal archives and find out which category this man fit into. Of course, Pan might just remain silent, but that in and of itself would be condemnation enough. 

"His _Saiyan_ name is _Kakarot,_" Pan hissed acidly, clenching her hands into tight fists as anger swelled her ki. She didn't know which she wanted to do more right now - strangle Radditz or punch him hard enough to dislocate his jaw - but she knew that if he insinuated one more thing about her grandpa, she'd make him wish that he'd never been born. 

_Crash!_

Pan's attention was yanked roughly away from glaring daggers at Radditz by the sound of a shattering plate. Startled by the noise, her head jerked in the direction of the disturbance to find Sereri staring at her in shock, her face two shades paler than it normally was. At her feet were the broken shards of one of the plates she'd been drying with the towel she still held clutched in one shaky fist. "Kakarot, you say?" Her voice was calm and even, belying the state of shock that her outward demeanor presented. Too calm. 

Ire forgotten, Pan blinked owlishly at the Saiyan woman for a moment as she tried to puzzle out the meaning of her reaction. "Yes," she answered warily, uncertain if this was a good thing or bad. Curiosity got the better of her and she risked asking a question of her own. "How-" 

"Impossible!" Radditz roared, slamming his fist on the table as he glared from one onna to the other. "Kakarot is dead! There is absolutely no way he can be your grandfather, Son Pan, so either you're lying, misinformed, or-" 

"Be quiet, Radditz!!" Sereri barked, her voice taking on a knife-like quality that cut through her son's protests. Radditz promptly shut his mouth with an audible click. One did not argue with Sereri when she used that tone of voice, not if they wanted to live a long and healthy life. Seeing that Radditz was obeying her order, she turned her steely gaze on the raven haired demi sitting at her table, causing Pan to involuntarily shrink away from her. "Your grandfather's Saiyan name is Kakarot?" she demanded Pan to confirm, her voice a mixture of confusion, curiosity, determination... and a spark of hope. The younger woman nodded her head uncertainly, confusion reigning on her face as she opened her mouth to ask a question, but Sereri cut her off. "And you said that my husband, the man who brought you here last night, reminded you of your grandfather?" 

Wondering where the Saiyan female was going with this line of questioning, Pan nodded again, her tail twitching anxiously behind her. She didn't know why, but Sereri's piercing gaze was rather disconcerting, making her lose some of her aggressiveness. "Yes, he had spiky hair like my grandpa," she made gestures with her hands to indicate how the spikes were placed on Goku's head, "and his face looked like my grandpa's..." Frowning, she tried to picture Bardock's face more clearly, then added, "Except my grandpa doesn't have a scar on his cheek." A soft exhalation from Sereri drew her attention back to the other woman, and she furrowed her brow in puzzlement at the introspective look on the wild haired woman's face. "How do _you_ know my Grandpa Go- I mean, 'Kakarot'?" she asked suddenly. 

Sereri's eyes came back into focus and she tilted her head to one side, looking at Pan as though she had never seen her before. After a few moments of studying her, the older woman nodded to herself, as though in confirmation of some inner thought, then turned her attention back to Pan's question. "Kakarot," she said, "is my son." 

~*~ 

What's that you say? What happened to Trunks? I was intending to put him in this chapter, but decided it would be better if I saved his scene for the next chapter. ^_^ Which Trunks you say? *smirks evilly* You'll just have to wait and see! If you're lucky, I may even have a scene for both of them! Meaning, a separate scene for each Trunks, not one scene with both of them. 

Now, I KNOW that I'll be getting reviews, eventually asking such things as "When are you going to update again? Are you going to finish this story?" and so forth. Before you ask, let me assure you that I that I have no intention of abandoning this fic, which means I will continue writing. If circumstances demanded that I stop writing Wild Occurrences (such as if my computers all broke and I couldn't replace them, or I was notified of my impending death, or something equally drastic and _unlikely_), then rest assured that I would at _least_ post a notice stating that! I will not just suddenly disappear from the face of the earth and quit writing! 

Also on that note, I have added a section to my profile, down at the bottom, that tells you what exactly I'm writing at the moment, what story I plan to update next, and any extra comments I might have to add. 

That's pretty much all I have to say this chapter, besides asking you all to review. ^_^ 


	13. Gathering the Players

Yes, after many long months, I'm finally back! Wild Occurrences has officially been taken off ice. ^_^ Thank you all sooo much for your patience! Anyway, I've almost completely changed the outline for this whole story, taking out some things and adding in others so that everything looks a whole lot better. Unfortunately, the biggest casualty of my remodeled outline is Trunks. By Trunks, I mean Trunks from Pan's timeline. I had hinted a chapter or so back that he would play a part in the story to come, but I've since changed my mind. As fun as it would be to bring him in, I decided I couldn't handle bringing in another major character. Not at this point in the story, anyway. Who knows? Things might change later on. My story outlines are never set in stone. ^_^ 

Since none of you want to hear me whine or make excuses, I'll just skip that part and go straight to the story. 

Disclaimer: If an author in a forest says she doesn't own DBZ and nobody's there to hear her, did she make a sound? 

**_Gathering the Players_**

It took Turles a moment to understand exactly what Bardock was asking, and then another moment passed as he recalled the details of his encounter with Son Pan. Scowling at the memory, the slightly older of the twins immediately started hedging. "And if I do? What of it?" 

An annoyed look flashed across Bardock's face. "I don't have time for your stupid games, Turles! The King himself ordered me to track down that female and bring her to him _immediately!_ Just tell me what I want to know, or I'll tell _him_ that you refused to cooperate with his commands. Do I make myself clear?" 

Turles growled, but he couldn't see any way to get out of answering his brother's questions, not with the Royal authority he'd just invoked. While it was one think to admit to the prince what that little vixen Son Pan had done to him, it was something else entirely to tell this same tale to his brother! He'd never live it down if Bardock found out that a female, weakling or not, had actually managed to land two blows on him. And considering that Turles was one of the strongest Saiyans on the planet, it would be even more humiliating if he revealed that those blows had actually _bruised_ him! However, strong as he was, Vegeta was both his King and his superior in strength, skill, and experience. Disobeying his orders simply was not an option, not unless you count torture and, almost certainly, a rather _painful_ death to be an option. "Fine! Ask your damn questions, ototo-chan!" he bit off each word angrily. 

_Finally. Now we might actually _get_ somewhere!_ Bardock relaxed slightly now that he had won the major victory in this confrontation in getting his brother to cooperate completely. It was rather nice to have the threat of the King's displeasure backing your words... Shaking that thought off, the scarred Saiyan got down to business. "It was reported that a single, non-classed onna took out at least forty first-class Saiyans in one of the training facilities and that you and my son, Radditz, were the last people to have contact with her. I want to know what happened." 

Grumbling under his breath, the elder twin resigned himself to the inevitable ridicule. "I didn't notice her when she first came in, but she sat down and started insulting the other soldiers who were sparring. It wasn't long before some of the others took her up on her challenge and attacked her, but she took them all out with ease. My own sparring partner got distracted, so I knocked him out and decided to go see what all the fuss was about. I watched as she quickly took down the rest of the warriors, and I have to admit, she was pretty good for an onna. Let me tell you, brother, there's _nothing_ sexier than a woman who can kick some serious ass." The lecherous smirk on his face revealed quite clearly what Turles was thinking about. "And then there was her _smell!_ Kami, Bardock, I've never smelled anything as good as that little onna did! It was enough to make me want to-" 

"I get the point, Turles!" Bardock interrupted irritably. He did _not_ want to listen to his brother's sexual fantasies about the female he was trying to locate. Not now, not ever! "She smelled good, you wanted to bed her, then what?" 

Sighing at the missed opportunity to annoy his brother, Turles continued, "Well, I had every intention of taking her, but to do that I'd have to make her a little more... docile." He smirked. "So I challenged her myself." This was the part Turles dreaded, the part that would do the most damage to the promiscuous Saiyan's ego. _Hn... There's really no need for ototo to hear _all_ of the details..._ "We didn't get very far in the fight before your meddling son Radditz interfered, yipping something about having orders from the Queen herself to escort Son Pan back to her room. Naturally I-" 

"Son? _Son_ Pan?" Bardock demanded, suddenly tense and on edge. _It can't be. It's got to be coincidence! She's been causing trouble since before the diplomats arrived, and there haven't been any other ships from Chikyuu-sei in years now! Besides, all ships to and from planet Earth are thoroughly inspected to detect stowaways or contraband of any kind!_

Giving his brother an odd look, the weaker Saiyan nodded his head. "That's what Radditz said her name was. Son Pan." A slight frown creased his features, remembering that Radditz had made him promise not to speak of what he'd learned next. But the _King_ had ordered this! This wasn't exactly the kind of thing that ought to be concealed from King Vegeta, especially considering the nature of the information. "He told me that she was a halfbreed, Bardock. A human-Saiyan hybrid." 

A sharp intake of breath was the only sign Bardock gave of the importance of this information. _It would make sense. Saiyan and human hybrids are actually stronger than either parent race normally produces. That would explain why she was strong enough to take down so many first class warriors. But just how strong _is_ she?_ "Turles, how would you assess this onna's strength? Weaker than you? Stronger than you? Obviously she's at least first class in strength, but I'd like to have a clearer idea in case it comes down to a fight." 

"What does it matter, ototo?" snapped the older man. "You're the third strongest Saiyan on this planet, remember? It's not like any onna could stand up to you, no matter _how_ strong she is!" The matter of Bardock's strength was a sore spot for Turles, but not as sore as admitting that Pan had injured him during their short spar, that there was a possibility that a _female_ was stronger than him. 

"It matters because I want to know what I'm up against!" shouted Bardock. "Now answer the damn question!" 

Bristling under the power and authority his brother had over him, Turles silently plotted to find some way to get even for the humiliation he was about to endure. _Maybe I could arrange to have Leeka visit him again..._ he thought, a sly smirk tugging at his lips. _Only this time without _any_ clothes on._ The image of what Sereri would do to her mate after a naked woman showed up asking for him was enough to bolster Turles's spirits to where he could answer honestly. "I don't know if she's stronger than me. Like I said, we didn't fight long. Only long enough for her to give me this." He pointed at the bruise on his jaw. "And this." Lifting his shirt, he revealed a similar bruise purpling his ribs. 

Bardock's eyes scanned the bruises thoroughly before a slow smirk spread across his tanned face. _This is it,_ Turles thought sourly. _This is the beginning of my indefinite humiliation. Damn you, Bardock. _To his surprise, though, Bardock's next words were not words of ridicule. 

"Thank you for your cooperation, Turles." The words were heavily laced with irony, without any hint of mockery. But that smile... that smile on Bardock's face promised beyond any doubt that this was not the last Turles would hear of this conversation. Somehow, Turles knew that his brother would find the worst possible moment to bring up such an embarrassing subject, probably in front of a large audience with highly important people in attendance. Just great. 

"Is there anything _else_ you wanted to ask me, brother dear?" Turles asked stiffly. All he wanted to do was get away from Bardock and get to work on setting his plan of revenge in motion. Kami knew Bardock more than deserved it, or would sometime in the near future. He also needed to start looking for the woman he might have gotten a child on, but at the moment that was of less importance to him than arranging something with Leeka. 

The smile left Bardock's face as the younger man suddenly became serious. "Do you know where this Son Pan is now?" 

Turles shook his head. "The Prince showed up, saying that he would escort the onna back to her room, but she'd somehow escaped when we weren't looking. As far as I know, no one knows where she is." 

_Hn..._ thought Bardock. _Just because Turles has no idea where she is doesn't mean Radditz doesn't either. Just how much does Radditz know about this situation anyway? And why hasn't he said anything about it to anyone?_ "This isn't good. If she's that strong, then there aren't many men on this planet who could stop her. Not on their own anyway. I'll need to talk to the Captain of the Guard and have him organize his men into larger groups. Shit! That means I probably won't have time to talk to Radditz before I need to be at the banquet hall." 

"Banquet hall?" Turles lifted an eyebrow in surprise. His brother didn't often dine with the royalty, and even then the banquet hall was rarely used except for large official functions. Wait a minute... "Damn, I nearly forgot!" he cursed out loud. "That dinner with the diplomats is in an hour, and I'm supposed to be there!" 

"I guess that means you'll actually have to take a bath then," Bardock laughed. "A sweet smelling Turles, what a thought!" 

Turles glared. "Shut the hell up, ototo! You know damn well I bathe regularly!" Smirking broadly, he added, "It makes it a lot easier to get into an onna's bed, you know." 

"Yeah, you _would_ know." Rolling his eyes, the younger twin headed for the door of the training facility. "As much as I've enjoyed this conversation, I have other things to do. I'll see you again at the banquet." Under his breath, Bardock added, "Unfortunately." And with that, he was gone. 

~*~ 

The hot wind of the desert blew into the purple haired prince's face almost as though it was determined to plunge into his abnormal blue eyes and sere them black. Trunks didn't care. He let the burning sun beat down upon his skin, ignored the sand that the wind pelted against him, even when it got into his clothing, and allowed his thoughts to drift. No, drift wasn't the right word for it, for always his thoughts would return to the memory of black silk hair and pale satin skin. 

"Son Pan..." he whispered, closing his eyes so he could see the memory more clearly. The memory of her lips against his while their bodies molded against each other caused a fire to stir within his loins hotter than anything the desert could offer, a fire that quickly spread to inflame his heart. _I don't need to dream of womanly perfection anymore,_ he thought with a smile. _For I have found it in Son Pan. Now all I need to do is make her _mine. First, though, he had to find her. 

Opening his eyes again, the hybrid prince stared moodily out across the city to where the barren desert shimmered with illusory heat waves. From this distance it was a beautiful sight indeed, but Trunks knew that if he flew out there he would find only dry, pitted dirt and drifting dunes of sand. _Like Ruuka..._ he mused silently. Seen from a distance, Ruuka, too, was a beautiful creature. But like the distant desert, this was also an illusion. He had seen her up close, knew every flaw of her body as well as he knew his own hand. On top of that, he knew _her_, knew exactly how ugly she was on the inside, and he couldn't help but wonder why he had bothered to keep her around for so long. Even before he had met Pan, he knew it was time to find someone else. The problem was that there were very few women who had both strength and beauty, women who could fulfill his special needs in bed without breaking. 

Pan, though... Pan had beauty and strength beyond even his expectations. Trunks raised a hand to touch his cheek where the raven haired goddess had struck him. Somehow, he knew that she hadn't been using all of her strength, and it had still hurt him. Granted, he had had his guard down since he wasn't expecting the object of his interest to resist him, but it was still quite an accomplishment to be able to injure _him_. The hand touching his cheek throbbed with the pain of being bitten by Pan, but he ignored it. Welcomed it, in fact. It was tangible proof that the lovely siren that haunted his dreams was no dream, but was a real flesh and blood creature that he could touch, could hold, could _have_. And he _would_ have her. 

"I always get what I want, little onna," he murmured softly. "You can't run forever, you know." 

"Brat! Stop drifting like a brain dead fool! Get your butt off the roof of the castle and start preparing for the dinner with the diplomats before I make Bra the heir to the throne and send your sorry ass packing!" The harsh voice of his father cut into Trunks's thoughts, bringing him back to reality rather against his will. 

Trunks scowled. He had forgotten about the dinner with the diplomats from Earth. Unfortunately, he was the Saiyajin no Ouji, so he didn't exactly have much choice in the matter of attendance. His father would skin him alive if he tried to skip out on this, even though both his mother and his sister would also be there. It was times like this that Trunks really hated his human genes. It made it almost mandatory for him to show up whenever high ranking Earth officials were around. At least he'd gotten out of having to greet the diplomats when they first arrived. 

"I'm coming, otousan," he shouted down at the balcony where he knew his father was standing. Sighing, the lavender haired demi-Saiyan floated down from his perch on the roof. His search for Pan would have to wait until after he ate. 

~*~ 

Pan sat back in her chair, stunned. "Son?" she squeaked, hardly noticing the way her voice sounded. "My grandpa is your _son?!_" Her eyes widened as the full implications of this revelation hit her. "That means you're my great grandmother!" Whipping her head around, she looked at Radditz almost accusingly. "And you're my great uncle!" 

"And I tell you this is absurd!" Radditz glared at the young girl in front of him, then turned to face Sereri. "Mother, you can't possibly believe this girl! If what she says is true, that would mean that Kakarot managed to live through his childhood on a planet with a full moon _every month_ and yet has managed to remain unnoticed for all these years! He would have gone oozaru many times over by now, which would most _certainly_ have attracted a lot of attention! On top of all that, there's been the increased security on Earth preventing rogue Saiyans from trying to live there. He _would_ have been caught! Him or whatever child he had that produced Son Pan! Besides which, wouldn't he have tried to contact us at least _once?!_ His ship was programmed to teach him his mission, our language and culture, and provide him instructions for how to notify us when his job was done. Face it, mother, Kakarot is dead, and this is all either an elaborate lie or a huge coincidence!" 

"My son does have a point," admitted Sereri, keeping her gaze directed at Pan. Her words were still calm and even, neither believing nor disbelieving. Neutral. "Kakarot was sent out as an infant during the Planet Trade era. I was told only that he had been assigned to a low level planet. Which one, I don't know. That information was classified at the time, and later the records were lost completely. We never heard from him, and no one ever found him, so we assumed he was dead." 

Completely forgetting that she was in another timeline, that there _was _a possibility that things had turned out differently in this time than in hers, Pan answered truthfully and defiantly. "I was told that my grandpa hit his head when he was young and forgot everything about who he was. He was raised as a human, so of course he didn't try to contact you! He didn't know how, or that he was even supposed to! As for turning into a giant monkey, he _couldn't_ for most of his life because his _tail_ was cut off, bakayaro!" She aimed that last shot at Radditz, who merely snorted in response. 

"So," Sereri said, forestalling any nasty comebacks her son might have. "It _could_ be possible. If Kakarot has been living on Earth since before our race officially came into contact with the planet, then he would have been there before the restrictions were set in place. He would already be considered a citizen of Earth, and who's to say otherwise unless he got his blood tested? So long as he didn't attract attention to himself, it is very likely that he could remain "human" for the rest of his life." She frowned. "Or until people started to notice he was living an unnaturally long time. Humans have much shorter life spans than do Saiyans. Still, that wouldn't happen for a while..." 

"Especially since my Grandpa Goku lives pretty far from any major cities," Pan added helpfully. "He doesn't have much contact with people other than his family and close friends." As the shock of the discovery wore off, excitement soon took its place. These people were her _family!_ Not even her grandfather could remember his real family, and now here Pan was with her great grandmother and great uncle. Goku had once confided in her that he sometimes wondered what his parents were like. If she ever had the opportunity to see her grandfather again, it would be wonderful to have stories of his Saiyan family to tell him! 

Pan could see a similar gleam of excitement in Sereri's eyes as the older woman rounded on her son. "Radditz, I want you to perform a comparison test on Pan's blood. There's only one way to be certain if she's telling the truth, and that's by comparing her blood to ours." 

Now Radditz almost seemed to be uneasy. What was going on in his head right now? _Maybe he just doesn't like the idea of being related to me,_ Pan mused silently. She couldn't really blame him. Ever since they'd first met, neither of them had really made any effort to be civil to each other. In fact, his tail was probably still throbbing where she had bit it. Pan smirked at the memory. 

"I don't think I can do that just yet, mother," the wild maned Saiyan said, shifting his stance and glancing at a clock agitatedly. 

Sereri's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Why not?" 

"It's just that I have orders," he hastily explained, wary of his mother's ire. "Queen Bulma told me to bring Pan back to her quarters. She said something about needing to talk to her." 

"So have her blood tested on the way back to her room. A simple test like that won't take much time." 

"You don't understand. I... er... well, I'm probably in enough trouble as it is. What with all that's been going on, I still haven't reported in to the king about this yet, and the orders I got from the queen were given _yesterday_. If I don't get Pan back to her room _now,_ someone's likely to order my tail served on a platter!" 

Lifting an eyebrow in surprise, the older of the two women asked, "Why haven't you reported to the king yet? I thought you were supposed to report disturbances immediately, Radditz." 

The slight tone of disapproval in his mother's voice made Radditz flinch. "It's not my fault! I couldn't very well notify the king until I knew what it was I had found! I had to run the blood tests and arrange for the pieces of her ship to be sent to the science lab first. Then when I got back to my room, the damn onna broke the regen tank!" That, in and of itself, was rather upsetting. Regen tanks were usually reserved for the elites due to their expensiveness and difficulty in producing. It would cost a lot of money to fix that tank, money which would probably come out of Radditz's pocket. "Ever since then I've been playing a game of tag with her, chasing her all over the palace so that I _could_ report in! If I'd reported in to say that I'd lost her, I'd be in even more trouble!" 

"Good point," Sereri said, frowning pensively. "You're right, of course. You need to get Pan back to her room, then report to the king at once. If you tell him what you just told me, maybe he'll be lenient. We can only hope." Firming up with this resolve, she folded her arms and glared at the two of them authoritatively. "Well? What are you waiting for?! Get going! The longer you take, the angrier King Vegeta will be when you finally _do _report in!" 

"Hey, wait a minute!" Pan protested. "Don't I get any say in this?" 

"No!" mother and son shouted in unison. 

"Pan," Sereri added sternly. "Allow my son to escort you to your room. This isn't a joking matter. If Vegeta-ou gets angry enough, it could mean someone's _life_. I do _not _want to lose my son because of your foolish stubbornness!" 

Pan opened her mouth to argue, but couldn't find anything to say. The thought of being taken back to her room like a naughty little girl rankled her. _I'm not a fucking child!_ she ranted silently, glaring at Radditz and Serer sullenly. However, she didn't want to put someone's life in danger just because she didn't feel like going back to her room. Even if it was Radditz's life they were talking about. Or maybe _especially_ because it was Radditz. After all, he was her great uncle. Family counted for a lot in Pan's mind. 

"Fine! I'll do it!" she grumbled irritably, grabbing her spiky haired uncle by the arm. Dragging him towards the front door, she called back to her great grandmother, "Maybe we can talk again sometime, grandma!" 

_Hmph. Grandma... I never thought I'd hear someone call me that,_ Sereri thought with amusement. Waving to her and Radditz, who was yelping a protest about being dragged out of the room by the same woman he'd been trying to track down for the past day, she raised her voice so that she could be heard. "Goodbye! And try not to get yourselves killed!" 

~*~ 

"Radditz! There you are!" Romei jogged up to the pair as they traveled down the hall, panting lightly when he came to a halt in front of them. "Do you know how long I've been trying to find you?!" Running his eyes up and down Pan, taking note of the night gown she was still in, he smirked. "Oooh... I see what you've been doing." 

A scarlet flush streaked across Radditz's cheeks. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Romei! I didn't do anything like that with Pan!" Indeed, the very thought made him shudder now. Pan wasn't just any onna now - she was his _niece!_

Pan, too, was blushing furiously at the comment. "Bakayaro! Do you _want_ me to kick your ass?!" 

"Mmm... ass..." Romei's eyes had a slightly glazed look to them, the reason for which became quite apparent when he inhaled deeply. His tail fluffed in a clear indication of where his thoughts were wandering, accompanied by a goofy smile. "Yeah, I want some of that..." 

Eyes widening in outrage, the raven haired demi-Saiyan glared so heatedly at Romei it was a wonder he wasn't burned to a crisp on the spot. She stomped up to the other man, fists clenched at her sides and looking ready to tear his limps off, and growled. 

However, before Pan could say or do anything to him, Radditz grabbed her by the arm and hauled her back. "Baka onna, if you don't want comments like that then you shouldn't stand so close to a male when you're in season!" Ignoring the embarrassed flush that lit up his niece's face, he turned to face Romei. "Why were you looking for me, Romei?" 

"Hmm? What?" Romei shook his head, still slightly dazed by the effects of Pan's scent. "Oh. Oh yeah. Queen Bulma sent me to find you. Change of orders. After you find Son Pan - which you've obviously already done - she wants to talk to her. She didn't say what it was about." 

"I see. Do you know where the Queen is?" the taller male asked. 

"I think she's in the banquet hall." Eyeing Pan's clothing once again, Romei added, "You might want to get her dressed in something more decent. Much as I like what she's wearing right now, it's not exactly appropriate for talking with the Queen." 

_The banquet hall?_ Radditz was surprised. _Why would Queen Bulma be in the banquet hall?_ Shrugging the question away as temporarily unanswerable, the wild haired man nodded. "Thank you for telling me, Romei. I'll take Pan back to her room so she can change. In the mean time, I want you to go to the engineering department and request repairs for the regen tank Pan broke. Tell them to take the expenses out of my account." 

Romei's face showed disappointment. He had probably wanted to stay with him, or, more specifically, with _Pan_, but he nodded reluctantly anyway. "Okay, Radditz," he said before turning around and heading in the direction of Radditz's quarters. 

"Let's get going," Radditz sighed. He had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last either of them saw of Romei. 

~*~ 

A short time later, Pan and Radditz were briskly walking down yet another hall, this time heading for the banquet hall where Romei said the Queen was waiting. Pan was dressed in clinging blue spandex, despite Radditz's protests. She was not about to wear a dress, and the other garments in the wardrobe in her room didn't appeal to her. Besides which, the spandex was comfortable and allowed a free range of motion. No wonder Vegeta in her timeline preferred it over normal human clothing. 

Coming to a stop in front of a pair of ornately carved doors, Radditz took a moment to compose himself. "Well, we're here," he murmured to his companion. Not waiting for a response, he stepped forward and pushed the doors open. 

~*~ 

Whew, what a long chapter! But I had a specific number of things I needed to accomplish in this chapter, so I couldn't cut it off until I did them all. Oh well, not like any of you are complaining. *grins* And now that the stage has been set and the players have gathered, it is time for me to take my bow and leave you until next time. *bows* 

If you asked to be on the mailing list and I didn't e-mail you, I'm really sorry! I _think_ I got everyone, but I might have missed someone by accident. 

Once again, thank you all for your patience. Updates will still probably be slow, but there shouldn't be another six month wait. See you all next time! 


	14. Not So Polite Conversation

Surprisingly, I don't have much to say. Special thanks to my two beta readers, Kana and Chibi Angel, who were of _tremendous_ help writing this chapter! I'd also like to thank my sister, who, even though she doesn't actually read this story, still helps me with characterization and writer's block, acting as my patient sounding board when I need her. 

That said, enjoy the chapter! 

Disclaimer: Someone once said "If my life was written in a book, nobody with an ounce of sanity would want to read it." Know what? That was me! So, I own the spiffy quote. Which is about _all_ I own. I certainly _don't_ own DBZ. 

**_Not So Polite Conversation_**

"So, Prince Trunks," Marron began, delicately wiping her mouth with the finely embroidered napkin that sat next to her plate during the course of the meal. Bardock noted with wry amusement that she was one of the few people to have even touched their napkins. But that was only to be expected, of course. Saiyans weren't exactly noted for their table manners, mostly due to the fact that the race in general ate too quickly to accommodate such tedious foolishness. They weren't _messy_ eaters, or at least they weren't for occasions such as this, but neither did they waste time wiping lips that would only stay clean for a minute or two. "How is your search for a bride coming?" 

Trunks's lips curled upwards slightly in a secretive smile. "I believe I have found a... suitable candidate," he said, taking a small sip from his goblet. He swirled the deep maroon liquid in his glass for a moment before setting it down, keeping his blue eyes focused on Marron's face. 

A derisive snort from Vegeta greeted this statement as the Saiyan king looked up from his food. "Oh really?" he sneered sarcastically. "Well, that's certainly news to me! Tell me, Trunks, since when did the word 'suitable' become an appropriate way to refer to that wench Ruuka?" 

Trunks scowled faintly. "I wasn't referring to Ruuka, father," he replied coldly. Bardock's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he yanked his attention away from the human diplomats, turning to give the prince a measuring look. _I wasn't aware that the prince had changed bed mates,_ he frowned, wondering if he was slipping or if Trunks had gone out of his way to prevent Bardock from finding out. The Saiyan warrior generally made it his business to know who had captured the demi-Saiyan's interest, as that person might end up being a possible threat later on, or potentially the future queen. Or both. Either way, it was always good for Bardock to be informed. _Maybe this 'suitable candidate' is new...._

Apparently this news caught Vegeta off guard as well, because the Saiyan King set down his utensils - a sure sign of shock among Saiyans, who never put their utensils down unless they're finished eating. "You've replaced that filthy cow?" he asked, not even bothering to dignify the woman with her name. At his son's affirming nod, he snorted approvingly. "It's about time. So who is this new woman you're referring to? Of course, practically anyone would be better than that wh-" He cut the word off with a slight frown, glancing at Marron and Goten as he did so. _Right. Polite company and all that crap._ "-woman," he amended after a barely noticeable pause. "Still, I would like to know who you've chosen this time." 

A secretive smile slipped across the purple haired prince's features. "I don't think you've met her, father. I'll have to bring her to meet you sometime." Of course, he failed to mention the small fact that Pan might not agree with his sentiments regarding suitability. Indeed, the idea that she might not _want_ to be his bride never crossed his mind. 

"You realize, Trunks, that I must also approve your final choice," Vegeta stated with a dangerous edge to his voice, seeing the boy's attempt to deflect questions for what it was. Eyes glinting seriously, he added, "And remember that your time is running out. The tournament is only a week away." 

Trunks tensed and shot his father a venomous glare. "I will choose my own mate, father!" At the time that his father had issued the ultimatum, the young prince hadn't thought anything of it. It hadn't appeared that he'd find anyone he actually _wanted_ to mate, and, like his father said, almost anyone would make a better future-queen than Ruuka, but that was _before_ he met Pan! 

"Only if you can do so before the time is up," the king calmly replied, picking up his fork and knife once again to continue his interrupted meal and thus signaling the end of the discussion. Inwardly, he was somewhat surprised by his son's reaction. When Vegeta had first announced the tournament and its purpose, Trunks hadn't made any kind of protest. _I wonder..._ he mused silently, allowing the thought to trail off uncompleted with a small shake of his head. 

After watching the moody prince a moment longer, Bardock returned to scrutinizing the diplomats, particularly Son Goten. The spiky haired youth was seemingly oblivious to the entire conversation, happily focused on the food in front of him as he was. Bardock's earlier suspicions immediately rekindled upon seeing the way Goten shoveled food into his mouth at a rate that rivaled the speed of even some of the table's _Saiyan_ occupants! _No human could eat that much food,_ Bardock thought with conviction, narrowing his eyes slightly. He glanced briefly at Marron's plate for confirmation and nodded to himself when he saw the pathetic portions of food she had served herself in comparison to the heaping mounds her partner was consuming. _The boy _is_ a Saiyan! All I need is a blood sample to prove it, I'm sure of it!_ Pursing his lips in thought, the Saiyan warrior silently vowed to drag Goten to one of the science labs as soon as the feast was over and run the scans himself. 

Up to this point Marron had kept silent, sensing that her voice in this argument would be unwelcome. However, now that the confrontation seemed to be over she decided to risk a question. "Your pardon, sirs, but what tournament were you referring to?" 

"Tournament?" Goten's ears almost visibly perked up at the word, finally showing interest in something other than his food. _Yet another Saiyan trait,_ Bardock noted grimly. 

A tap on his shoulder distracted the head of the science wing and strategical commands from his thoughts. "Bardock, where's your brother?" a frowning Gallot asked softly so as not to draw the attention of any of the other diners. The first class commander jerked his head in the direction of the suspiciously empty seat where Turles ought to have been sitting. 

"I don't know, Gallot," Bardock replied, also keeping his voice down. Scowling at the empty seat, he added, "I know he knew about the banquet and that he was supposed to be here. When I spoke with him an hour ago he mentioned getting cleaned up." When a quick scan of the room failed to produce his brother, Bardock let loose a string of expletives that made Gallot squirm uncomfortably. 

"....tournament will be all female." Princess Bra's voice drifted down the table from where she was speaking with the two foreign diplomats. "Officially it's to 'assess the general improvement of female fighting ability'." 

"But unofficially," Queen Bulma cut in, giving her husband a significant look - which he properly ignored, "it's a contest to find the strongest woman on the planet. The winner will be the future queen of Vegeta-sei." 

"Coincidentally, all contestants must be unmated and of marrying age," Bra said lightly. "Some nonsense about preventing 'possibly pregnant women' from fighting. Anyway, the theory is that the stronger the parents, the stronger the children will be, so the winner of such a tournament would be the ideal mate for my brother." 

The blonde haired woman frowned. "Doesn't Prince Trunks have a choice about this?" 

"Oh, he's had his chance," Vegeta-ou snorted. "I told him last year that it was time for him to mate and that he had a year to find a suitable woman before I found someone for him myself. The year ends in one week." 

Trunks muttered darkly in response to this, but whatever he said was lost in the gentle babble of conversation from the rest of the table. 

"....took out a third of the first class soldiers...." 

"....heard it was an onna...." 

"....couldn't be. No female's _that_ strong! Hey, could you pass the wine? No, not that bottle, give me the red one. That other stuff tastes like vinegar...." 

"I'm going to skin him alive," Bardock growled, violently spearing a vegetable with his fork. 

"Skin who, ototo?" Sliding into his seat a couple chairs down from his brother, Turles raised his voice to address the head of the table. "I apologize for being late, your majesty. I was... _detained_." With a smug, satisfied smirk, the elder twin began heaping food onto his plate, pausing only to toss a wink at his infuriated brother. 

Vegeta chortled knowingly. "Yes, I imagine you were. So, who was it this time?" 

"You remember that cute new officer in the science department?" replied Turles, waggling his eyebrows to emphasize the word 'cute'. He glanced briefly at Bardock to gauge the younger Saiyan's reaction to finding out that this latest conquest had occurred amongst Bardock's own ranks. 

Shooting his brother a nasty look, Bardock barely managed to refrain from bashing the idiot's head in then and there. _One of these days,_ he thought furiously. _One of these days he's going to go too far. I don't see why Vegeta-ou lets him get away with so much! The nerve of him, showing up late for a royal affair because he was bouncing around in some onna's bed and then _bragging_ about it in front of everyone! One of these days, the king is going to stop being amused by his antics, and then Turles is going to have his tail served on a platter - or his head!_

"It isn't so much that I find your brother's stunts amusing, Bardock," Vegeta murmured, startling Bardock out of his thoughts. The older warrior barely had time to wonder if the king had someone learned to read his thoughts before Vegeta continued, eyes twinkling mischievously. "It's the way you react." 

Bardock opened his mouth... then closed it - several times - as words to express his indignation failed him. _They're doing this just to annoy me!_ Before he could sputter an indignant accusation, Vegeta started speaking again. 

"By the way, Turles," he said in a too-casual tone of voice, "there are much better reasons for being late to banquets...." Grinning slyly, Vegeta-ou met Turles's eyes directly. "Such as sparring with your king. But since it's too late to do it before eating, we'll just have to arrange a little match after we're done. Don't you agree?" 

It was a hard fight for Bardock to keep himself from snickering at the look on his brother's face. _That'll teach Turles not to draw attention to himself like that! I bet Vegeta was just _itching_ for an excuse to beat someone up, and Turles being as strong as he is makes him a perfect choice!_ Lips twitching with amusement, he silently added, _If he hadn't walked in late and made such a scene, there's a pretty good chance it would have been me the king picked for a sparring partner. I'll have to remember to thank Turles for that later._ Of course, his brother probably wouldn't appreciate such thanks, but, then, that was the point, wasn't it? 

Paling as the blood drained from his face, Turles gulped and nodded miserably. Not that he had much choice in the matter, of course - not when it was the _king_ 'asking' for a spar! "Yes, sire." 

"Good! We'll meet in the training room off of the east wing immediately after lunch." Vegeta smirked broadly at his soon-to-be-victim, then refocused his attention on the diplomats. "I apologize for the interruption," he said, not sounding very sorry at all. "Now, where were we?" 

Wearing twin expressions of bemusement, Goten and Marron glanced at each other, uncertain how they should respond to all of this. Goten opened his mouth to say something, but whatever it was was abruptly cut off when the doors to the banquet hall were thrown open with a loud _bang!_ Every head turned in the direction of the disturbance, the noise level in the room falling dramatically as conversations trailed off. Bardock frowned, wondering who else had been foolish enough to arrive late. _Whoever it is, I doubt they'll get off as easy as Turles. King Vegeta won't be nearly so amused by a _second_ interruption._

To his surprise, the person who strode into the banquet hall was none other than his own son, Radditz. Upon seeing the people gathered for lunch, the wild maned warrior's steps faltered, surprise and... was that fear?... flickering in his eyes. Behind him was a woman clad in form fitting spandex, her silky black hair oddly affected by the gravity to fall in smooth, flat curtains, not a hint of typical Saiyan spikes anywhere. But she was a Saiyan, as evidenced by the fuzzy brown tail lashing the air at her side. Bardock raised an eyebrow in surprise, recognizing her as the onna he'd run into the night before. Who was she, and what was she doing here with his son? _For that matter, why the hell is _Radditz_ here?_

A sharp intake of breath alerted Bardock to the fact that Turles had also noticed the strange female. Glancing at his brother, he was startled to see the light of recognition in his onyx eyes, eyes that were staring with burning intensity at the two newcomers. "It's her!" Turles hissed, standing up so suddenly that he knocked his chair over. "Son Pan!" And with those four words, chaos erupted throughout the room. 

Bardock shot to his feet and spun back around, instinctively raising his guard as he whipped his scouter out of his pocket and attached it to his face. Pressing the button on the side, he trained the scouter's sensors on the surprised female at his son's side. Numbers immediately appeared in the green lens, then started shooting up at an astonishing speed. 

"Pan?!" yelped Goten, both he and Diplomat Marron jumping up as well. Shock, bewilderment, and alarm were equally evident on both their faces. "What's _she_ doing here?!" 

"Pan," breathed Trunks, looking both surprised and pleased at the same time. Eyes shining with a strange light, the Saiya-jin no Ouji stood up and immediately began walking towards Radditz and Pan. 

"Radditz! What is the meaning of this?!" roared Vegeta, obviously confused by the sudden pandemonium caused by one soldier and one female Saiyan. Of course, if he didn't know that this 'Son Pan' was the same woman he'd ordered Bardock to track down and bring before him, as Bardock had not had time to report his findings to the king before the banquet began. He too would have gotten out of his seat, if it hadn't been for his mate's sudden restraining grip on his arm. Shooting Bulma a startled and angry glare, Vegeta roughly pulled his arm away and rose to his feet. 

"Vegeta, wait!" The queen tried to grab Vegeta's arm again, but he was already out of her reach. 

"Not now, woman," he growled without looking back, striding swiftly towards the pair standing frozen in front of the open door. Even from across the room, Bardock could see his son's eyes widen at the king's approach, the blood draining from his face. "Radditz, what the _hell_ is going on?! Who is this onna?" 

Radditz's mouth worked soundlessly for a few moments, but it seemed that words refused to come. The only sound in the room was the confused babble of the people who had no idea what was going on and the rapid beeping of Bardock's scouter as it continued to try to get a reading on Pan's energy. _What the hell?! It's _still_ going up?!_ Bardock's eyes widened with alarm when he realized how high the numbers were already. _Thirty thousand?!! Impossible!_ And yet, the numbers were still rising. 

"V-Vegeta?" Pan squeaked. Her breathing was becoming short and erratic, the panicked expression on her face growing more and more pronounced, and she took a few nervous steps away from the approaching Saiyans. "Trunks?" Then her eyes landed on Goten and Marron, who had both gotten out of their seats as well, and she began to tremble. Lips moved as though forming names, but whatever it was she said, she said it too quietly for Bardock to hear. Bardock's eyes narrowed. _She recognizes them! And they recognize her! Son Pan. Son Goten. I'd bet my tail that those two are related!_

Seemingly sensing that his charge was about to bolt, Radditz's hand snaked out and latched onto the raven haired female's wrist, startling her out of her shock. With a growl like a cornered animal, Pan struggled to free herself from her captor's grip, to no avail. Bardock grinned briefly at his son with pride. His son was, after all, one of the strongest Saiyans on the planet; Son Pan would find that breaking free would be no easy- 

Cra-_boom!_

Bardock's head jerked back reflexively as the scouter exploded in his face. Cursing profusely, he clapped a hand to his ear and rubbed it for a moment before reality caught up to him. Then he _really_ swore. _She hit Blow Up Level!_ his mind screamed, referring to the level of strength it usually took to make a scouter blow up. Nowadays it took a ki of about seventy thousand or more to accomplish that - a strength unheard of in any but the strongest of Saiyans in their untransformed state. For an untransformed Saiyan _female_ to be _that_ strong.... 

"Let. Me. Go!!" Pan snarled at Radditz, a visible red aura dancing around her figure. Abruptly changing tactics, the diminutive woman stopped trying to pull her wrist out of Radditz' hand. Before he even had a chance to register what was happening, Pan had curled her free hand into a fist and punched him hard right between the eyes with such force that he was sent hurtling across the room. Radditz slammed into the wall then slid to the floor in an unconscious heap, leaving behind a spider web of cracks where his head had impacted with the stone wall. 

A moment of stunned silence ensued as everyone in the room, Pan included, gaped at the fallen warrior. Almost as though she couldn't believe what she'd just done, the young woman's eyes flicked from Radditz to her fist and then back again. Turning his attention back to Pan, Bardock thought he saw a slightly guilty expression in her eyes, but it was gone before he could be sure. Pan took an uncertain step backwards, then abruptly spun around and darted out of the room. 

"Trunks, go after her!" Vegeta bellowed at his son - the closest person to Pan - who needed no second urging as he was already sprinting after the girl. "Turles, Gallot, go with him! When you find her, bring her to me at once!" 

"Yes, sire!" Turles and the first class commander immediately ran out of the room on the heels of the Saiyan Prince. 

"Vegeta." Bardock hurriedly approached the king, holding out the broken pieces of his scouter, his expression grim. "The woman's energy-" 

"I know, Bardock. I can sense ki, remember?" Bardock nodded. He'd known, but it was still his duty to inform the king about the overloaded scouter. "Get your son and put him in a regen tank. I want him healed as quickly as possible." Glancing at Radditz's still form, Vegeta's features hardened. "Find out what he knows about all this, then bring him to me." 

"Yes, sire," Bardock replied somberly, shaking his head as he walked over to the unconscious man. He had a feeling that his son was going to be in a lot of trouble. Bending down and grunting as he lifted Radditz into his arms, he added, "While I'm at it, I should take the diplomat, Son Goten, down to the med labs and get his blood tested." Bardock straightened up and opened his mouth to call out to the suspected Saiyan to follow him - only to stop short before the first word left his lips. 

Son Goten was gone. 

~~**~~ 

Oy, that was a hard chapter to write. Trying to write scenes with multiple conversations going on at once, then the pure chaos upon Pan's entry, and I had to make some guesses about average Saiyan strength and technological improvements, but I think it all turned out fairly well. Having beta readers definitely helps. 

No promises on when the next chapter will be up. School starts again in a couple weeks, so I'll have to devote a lot of time to classes and homework. *grimace* 

I hope this chapter lived up to everyone's expectations! Thanks for reading. ^_^ 


	15. I Am A Sack Of Potatoes

Brenda: Hey all, I'm- *multiple thuds as the fans all keel over from shock* -back. -_-; It wasn't _that_ long, was it? 

Bardock: *snorts* I'd call nearly four months a long time, especially for a race with the attention span and patience of a gnat! 

Brenda: Hey! I'm a part of that race, too! 

Bardock: *smugly* Case in point. 

Brenda: *scowls, then turns back to the audience* Okay, apparently there was a little confusion last time as to the purpose and function of a "beta reader". I'd assumed this was general knowledge, but apparently not. A beta reader is someone who, typically, reads over a chapter or story after the author has written it and checks for spelling, grammar, structural, and story mistakes. They help spot plot holes, inconsistencies, and rough spots that need smoothing. I often use my beta readers to help me brainstorm for ideas and get past writer's block, as well. In short, they help the author improve his/her story to the best of their ability (please note that no beta reader is perfect, so there may still be mistakes in the final draft). That clear things up? Good. On to the story! 

Disclaimer: If I was a famous manga ka (person who writes/draws manga) do you think I'd still be in college and taking Graphic Design classes? I think not. Therefore, I am not Akira Toriyama and, likewise, do not own DBZ. 

**_I Am A Sack Of Potatoes_**

_That was grandpa! This time I'm sure of it! Grandpa Goku and Marron! But what are _they_ doing here?_ Dashing down the corridor as fast as her legs would carry her without going Super, Son Pan frantically searched for some way to escape the people she could sense pursuing her. The pounding of her heart provided a staccato accompaniment to the thoughts rattling wildly in her head. _It must have been some kind of formal dinner or something, what with so many people there. Vegeta, Bulma, Trunks - no, _Prince_ Trunks! He's not the Trunks you know, Pan!_ With speed born of desperation, the raven haired woman skidded around a corner and sprinted down the hall, passing door after door and not opening any of them. _I am _not_ going to end up trapped inside another closet! Damn it, why isn't anything ever easy?!_

Hoping to lose whoever was following her, Pan rounded another corner at random, then another, and another, until she herself was quite lost. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be working, because she could still sense the three strong kis trailing not far behind her and a fourth that was fast gaining on them. Pan swore. _No one I've met so far can sense ki, so how are they following me?!_ With a start, the conversation she had with Queen Bulma floated back to her memory and she realized that she was probably still "in season." _Oh great, they're tracking me by _scent?! _Damn Saiyans and their acute sense of smell! Okay, think, Pan, think! How am I going to get them off my trail?_

Surprisingly, the answer to her question came as she passed by a door tucked away into a small alcove. The door was slightly ajar, allowing air from within the room to pass into the hallway, carrying with it the faint odor of potatoes, squash, grain, flour, and other food stuffs, but most notably _garlic_. _A food cellar!_ Inspiration struck like a bolt of lightning, and without thinking, Pan hurled herself into the cool, dry room, yanking the door shut behind her. A swift examination of the room confirmed what her nose had told her; the walls were lined with barrels, sacks, jars, and crates filled with all manner of food. _I must be near the kitchens, and this is where they store things they'll be using soon._ Garlic hung in clusters from a rack suspended from the ceiling, filling the room with a pungent aroma. Pan hurriedly grabbed a handful of the pale, off white bulbs and stuffed them into her spandex suit where she could - an uncomfortable but effective way to mask her telltale scent. _Let's just see those Saiyans try to find me now!_ she smirked triumphantly. 

"...went this way!" a faint voice from outside the room called out. Pan cursed her stupidity. She would not be able to get out of the room without being spotted, and unless she found someplace to hide, and fast, all it would take would be one person poking their head in here for her to be found. Unfortunately, the room held very little that could be used to hide her presence. Just a few sealed barrels, boxes, and sacks. 

"Wait a minute..." she muttered, eyes lighting up with glee as a plan formed in her head. The sacks were big, easily big enough for her to hide in, and some of them were half empty. Pan snatched up one of the sacks and immediately started emptying the contents - potatoes - into one of the other sacks. Heart beating frantically inside her chest, she practically dove head first into the now empty sack, wriggling and scooting until her entire body was hidden from view. Then she held really still, pushing her ki down as far as it would go. 

_I am a sack of potatoes. I am a sack of potatoes. Nobody in here but us potatoes,_ she chanted silently as though it was some kind of mantra that would help protect her from the prying eyes of her pursuers. _I am a sack of-_

The door opened. Pan held her breath. Soft footsteps whispered across the stone floor, drawing closer to Pan's hiding spot. The foot steps stopped. _Goawaygoawaygoawaygoaway,_ Pan pleaded, squeezing her eyes shut. In her mind's eyes she imagined she could see the person in the room looming over her, reaching into the sack and pulling her out. Taking a deep, steadying breath, the fugitive demi-Saiyan prepared to power up and throw everything she had in the face of her would-be captor. _Why can't people just leave me alone? All I want is a few minutes alone so I can get control of myself!_

"Prince Trunks, the scouter's not picking up her energy signal anywhere," a voice Pan didn't recognize said from outside in the corridor. _Scouter?_ she blinked. _Damn, I forgot about those things! Good thing I've got my energy so low._

"Her scent's vanished, too," another voice added, one that Pan vaguely recognized, although she couldn't place where she'd heard it before. "It's like she disappeared into thin air!" 

"Indeed," a third, all-too-familiar voice replied. Pan's stomach performed an uncomfortable flip flop as she realized who exactly it was who was standing in the room with her. _Trunks!_ she nearly moaned._ No no no, I do _not_ want to deal with you! Not right now!_ A slight scuffing sound told Pan that the purple haired prince was moving again. "And both disappeared right outside this room." A pause. "I don't see her in here, but she might have gone into the ventilation system. See how the grate hasn't been securely fastened over there? And if she did come in here, the smells from all this food would certainly mask her scent." Pan almost felt like cheering and silently encouraged this faulty assumption. 

The sound of hard boots thudding against the floor warned Pan that someone else had entered the room, the footsteps heading in the direction that she guessed must be where the grate was located. Thankfully, it was on the other side of the room from where she was curled up in her potato sack. "I don't think so, Highness," the unfamiliar voice remarked. "If you look closer, you can see that even though the grate's loose, there aren't any signs that anyone's crawled into the ducts anytime recently. Note the fine layer of dust, which has _not_ been disturbed." 

"Hn... you're right, Gallot," Trunks grudgingly agreed, moving to join the other man by the grate. 

"The onna may still have come in here," the other, vaguely familiar voice chipped in from the doorway. "She could have grabbed something from in here to mask her scent, though I can't see how that would explain her ki disappearing from the radar like that." 

"There's a technique for ki suppression," the prince commented in an absentminded manner. "Father's told me about races he's encountered with that ability. Son Pan must have picked it up somewhere." 

"Damn, that's going to make it hard to find her." 

Trunks chuckled, a sound that sent chills down Pan's spine. "Don't worry, Turles. We _will_ find her, I assure you." Pan gulped. She wasn't sure she liked the sound of that. "We've spent too much time in this room. Let's go." 

Waiting until the sound of retreating footsteps had faded away completely, the young woman let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. _That was close._ She allowed a few more seconds to pass before she felt it was safe enough to crawl out of her hiding place. She wanted to make sure Trunks and his two flunkies were well and far away from her before she emerged from the room. _There. That ought to have given them enough time. Now I can get out of this stupid sack!_ Grinning triumphantly, Pan had just barely twitched her left foot towards the opening of the gunny sack when- 

"Pan?" 

_Eep!_

~*~

"Pan?!" yelped Goten as soon as he saw his niece standing next to an unfamiliar Saiyan with long, spiky hair. "What's _she_ doing here?!" He frantically tried to recall if there was some way she could have stowed away on his and Marron's transport ship. He remembered seeing her at the small farewell party that had been arranged for close friends and family to have a chance to say goodbye to the two Earth-born diplomats. Pan had stayed close to her parents, Gohan - Goten's older brother- and Videl, but had taken the time to offer Goten and Marron a heartfelt goodbye and a few words wishing them luck. She hadn't made any indication that she wanted to accompany them to Vegeta-sei, and had in fact mentioned that she would be helping the Satan City police investigate a recent string of murders. And yet, in obvious defiance of both attitude and words, Pan was _here_, on Vegeta-sei, in the banquet hall, and... wearing spandex? Goten blinked a few times, but the clothing his niece was wearing didn't change. _Since when did Pan start wearing spandex?_

He shook the inconsequential thought away. There was no one else it _could_ be! This woman had the same silky black hair, the same wide, sparkling eyes, and, most importantly of all, the same ki signature. _Her ki..._ Goten frowned. Pan's ki was shooting upward steadily as she struggled to free herself of her escort's grip... and it was far stronger than the last time Goten had seen her. 

However, he had no time to ponder this oddity, because at that very moment Pan's fist connected with the long-haired Saiyan's face and sent the man crashing into the wall, probably unconscious before he even hit it. Goten gaped at the girl for a moment, somewhat stunned by this uncharacteristic display of strength and lack of control. And, yes, it was lack of control, going by the look of surprised guilt he saw flickering in her eyes. _What's going on?_ he thought, bewildered. _Pan shouldn't _be_ this strong! And she's _always_ been in control of her strength! She has to be, what with her work in the police force!_

Ignoring the chaos that erupted when Pan fled from the room, Goten spun around and grabbed Marron's arm, pulling her back to an emptier corner of the room. "I'm going after her," he said, voice laced with a steel that he rarely had cause to reveal. "If anyone asks where I am, tell them I had to go to the bathroom or something." Not waiting for a response, the youngest son of Goku ran through the nearest of doors at a speed that made him invisible to all but the most well trained eyes. He didn't see Marron's blue eyes flash with anger, or hear her promise of dire consequences for leaving her to do all the damage control. 

It probably would have been easier to track Pan by leaving the banquet hall through the same doors she had, but he really didn't want anyone to notice him leaving. With any luck, King Vegeta would be so distracted by Pan's actions that he'd forget about the diplomats for the time being. Besides, with the brief tour of the palace that he and Marron had been given on the way to their rooms and his ability to sense his niece's ki, Goten felt sure that he could find an alternate route to intersect Pan's path of escape. 

Sure enough, it was only a minute or so before Goten's sensitive nose - he'd been told that his sense of smell was far more acute than the average human's - caught a whiff of a familiar scent. _Bingo!_ However, far from being triumphant at his success, the spiky haired diplomat only increased his speed, a grim expression on his face. He hadn't failed to notice that there were three significant kis following close behind Pan's - and they were gaining on her. _I'd better hurry if I want to get there in time..._ He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do when he caught up to them, if he was going to have to fend off the other pursuers or grab Pan and run or something else, but he knew, deep down, that time was of the essence. 

With a sickening lurch of his stomach, Goten suddenly realized that Pan's ki had stopped moving, had, in fact, all but disappeared and the three other kis were practically right on top of her. Uncomfortably aware of all the possible reasons why Pan's energy might have dropped so low, Goten ran even faster, mentally preparing himself to have to defend his niece from her attackers. He was close, now... close enough to hear their voices. 

"-mask her scent, though I can't see how that would explain her ki disappearing from the radar like that." 

Goten slowed to a halt just before rounding the final corner, confused by the reference to Pan's ki "disappearing". _It hasn't disappeared. It's just really low. So why-_ His eyes widened in sudden realization. _I forgot. Most Saiyans rely on scouter technology to track energy readings... and scouters aren't anywhere _near_ as accurate as natural ki senses! They probably can't even pick up Pan's energy when it's this low - and even if they did, they'd likely just assume it was a rodent or something!_ Quickly dropping his own ki to a nearly nonexistent level, Goten peeked around the corner to see what the Saiyans were doing. 

"There's a technique for ki suppression," Prince Trunks's voice drifted from the direction of an open door. "Father's told me about races he's encountered with that ability. Son Pan must have picked it up somewhere." 

"Damn, that's going to make it hard to find her." This was said by the only one of the three Saiyans who was still out in the hall. Goten recognized him as the one who had come to the banquet late... Turles, if he recalled correctly. Another man who struck an eerie resemblance to Goten's father, Goku. Ignoring the uneasy twisting in his gut at seeing someone who looked so much like his father dressed in Saiyan clothing and acting nothing like the kind and gentle man Goten knew, the young demi-Saiyan shook his head and sternly told himself that it was purely coincidence. _After all, they say that everyone has a twin somewhere. It's just my dad's luck that he has two twins and they're both Saiyans!_

A low chuckle drew Goten's attention back to the conversation at hand. "Don't worry, Turles. We _will_ find her, I assure you." The diplomat's eyes narrowed at the way Prince Trunks said those words. _Not if I have anything to say about it,_ he grimly vowed to himself. If there was one way he was especially like his father, it was his protectiveness of his family! If Trunks hurt so much as one hair on Son Pan's head, he'd find himself answering to Goten! "We've spent too much time in this room. Let's go." 

The purple haired prince emerged from the room, followed by a burly Saiyan that Goten hadn't been introduced to but had seen at the banquet. Immediately turning to his right, he set off down the hall at a light jog, Turles and the other Saiyan falling into place behind him. Goten waited until they were out of sight, then quickly strode into the room they had just vacated. The fear that Pan had been hurt or knocked unconscious no longer seemed likely. Neither Trunks nor his men had shown any indications that they'd been in a fight, and they would hardly have left Pan behind if they had knocked her out. So that left only one possible explanation for Pan's low energy. 

She'd gone into hiding. 

Sure enough, to his eyes the room was seemingly empty when Goten stepped inside and first looked around. The room appeared to be nothing more than a food cellar of some kind, filled with innocent bags, barrels, and crates of flour, vegetables, and grain. But though his eyes were easily fooled, hi ki senses immediately picked out a lumpy sack lying off to one side. 

A lumpy sack with a very familiar ki signature. 

A lumpy sack that was starting to twitch. 

A lumpy sack... with a tail? 

Goten stared. Nope, it wasn't his imagination. That brown furry thing sticking out of the sack by a good six inches was none other than the very same kind of tail being proudly sported by every single Saiyan on this planet. _What the hell?_ "Pan?" The twitching bag immediately stilled, although he could have sworn he heard a squeak of surprise. Despite the impossibility of this whole situation, Goten's lips quirked with amusement. Of all the things he'd thought he might encounter on this planet, Son Pan hiding in a gunny sack and _squeaking_ was certainly not one of them. "Pan?" he repeated, crouching down next to the bag. "You can come out now, you know. The others are gone." 

There was a moment of silence, then the bag started moving again as Pan wriggled her way out of it and sat up. Her hair was mussed and bits of whatever had once been in the sack clung to the silky black strands, but there was no mistaking that this was, indeed, Son Pan. 

"Uncle Goten?" she asked tentatively, almost as though she was expecting him to suddenly morph into someone else. Thinking back to his encounters with the two Goku look-alikes, Goten really couldn't blame her. 

Grinning in typical Son fashion, he reached out and plucked a bit of potato leaf out of his niece's hair. "Yeah, it's me," he confirmed. 

A look of pure relief washed over Pan's face. Then, much to Goten's surprise, she threw herself into his arms and buried her face in his shirt, her entire body trembling like a leaf in a storm. Goten wasn't certain what the cause of the shaking was - fear, stress, or something else - but he wrapped his arms around her shoulders anyway and returned the hug in full. 

~~**~~ 

As expected, school's kept me pretty busy, especially these last few weeks. I even had to end up dropping one of my classes because I couldn't keep up. Ironically, this class was English Composition. *wry* Bleah, now I'm gonna have to take it again. *sighs* Anyway, I'm _hoping_ that next semester won't be as bad, since I'm not taking as many classes, but one of them is _math_. I'm fairly good at math, but the homework still takes a long time to do. 

I would like to note that I have not and _cannot_ watch Dragonball GT. I have no access to cable TV. I can only hope that my characterization of GT characters isn't too far off. 

Speaking of GT, does anyone know what color Pan's eyes are? I'm told they're brown, but I think I've heard someone say that they're blue. I'm not certain if I've specifically mentioned Pan's eye color in this story yet, but I want to be consistent. If I've previously said that her eye color was something other than what it ought to be, I need to go back and change it. 

That's all that I have to say. Thanks for being patient and loyal fans! 


	16. Called Into Question

Sorry for the wait, folks! Finals came up and I had to put everything on hold until after the last day of school.  
  
Disclaimer: What do you get when you cross DBZ and Burenda? A wish come true? Or just a lawsuit? Eh... I'll have to go with answer number two, 'cause I don't own DBZ and I don't want a lawsuit.   
  


_**Called Into Question**_

The embrace between uncle and niece lasted a few more moments before Goten finally let Pan go and sat back on his heels. "Pan, what are you doing here?" he asked, seemingly unable to suppress his curiosity any longer. "I thought you were helping the Satan City police solve those murders! How did you even get here in the first place? The ship Marron and I took was the only one leaving from Earth for the next several days. How did you manage to stow away on it and remain hidden that long? Pan-"

"Uncle Goten," Pan swiftly cut him off, wanting to avoid the flood of questions she could see in her uncle's eyes. "It... it's a long story," she hedged. Part of her wanted to spill out everything, to tell this man, one of the most trusted men in her life, everything that had befallen her and all the she had been through these past few days, and then do nothing more than simply curl up in his arms and bask in the peaceful assurance of his presence. But there was another, more suspicious part of her that told her that was a bad idea. How did she know that this Goten was the same as _her_ Goten? What if he just thought she was crazy? What if he couldn't be trusted? The idea was completely foreign to her - after all, who _couldn't_ trust the members of the Son family? - but after all the differences she'd seen in this timeline, in the _people_ of this timeline, she just couldn't be sure. It would be taking a big risk to confide in Goten, and that was a risk she wasn't willing to take just yet.

As though to confirm her fears, a wise, calculating expression glinted in the depths of Goten's black eyes. "You're right. We should find someplace safer to discuss this." Taking hold of Pan's hands, the spiky haired young man rose to his feet while pulling his niece up to hers. "Come on, I'll take you to my quarters. Marron's room is next to mine, so if she's not already waiting for us, we can wait for her there. If we suppress our energy and use our ki senses to avoid people, we should be able to make it there without anyone noticing us." Goten cast an amused expression at Pan and quipped, "There are a lot of people looking for you, you know. Getting to be pretty popular, aren't you, Pan?"

"So I noticed," Pan grumbled. Inwardly, she was somewhat flustered by the way Goten was acting. Her kind but naive uncle had just issued a calm, logical course of action in the blink of an eye, one that would probably work, and he hadn't had any input from Trunks at all! _Well, duh, Pan! This isn't the same Goten you know. He never grew up with Trunks, so he probably never learned to rely on Trunks's intellect to get him out of trouble. He probably never got _into_ as much trouble in the first place! Maybe he learned to think for himself...._ Shaking away the comparisons between her timeline and this one, Pan hesitated for only a moment before nodding her assent with Goten's plan. No matter how different this Goten might be to her own uncle, he was still probably the most trustworthy person on this planet. Besides, it wasn't like she had a plan of her own or someplace safe to stay where she could have time to calm down and sort out her thoughts, to figure out what she was going to do next. Yeah, sure, Sereri might offer to take her in, but with Radditz as her son, it wouldn't be long before he discovered her.

Goten stepped over to the door and cautiously poked his head. It wasn't really necessary, considering that he could simply check for any nearby ki signatures with his senses, but obviously he didn't want to take any chances. Yet another point where he differed from his alternate self. "All right, coast is clear," he said, gesturing at Pan to follow him.  
  
Taking a deep breath, the raven haired quarter-Saiyan emerged from the storage room a step behind her uncle. The two checked to make sure their energy signatures were too low for a Saiyan scouter to pick up, then quickly and silently jogged down the hall and toward their mutual destination.  
  


-o-

  
"He had to go to the bathroom," Vegeta repeated dubiously. He gave the blond haired woman a look that begged the question 'how stupid do you think I am?' though he chose not to say it out loud. He knew she was lying. She knew he knew she was lying. Son Goten's disappearance had nothing to do with plumbing and everything to do with the young Saiyan female who shared his surname. _Hn... siblings, perhaps?_ A slight smirk quirked the corner of his lips. He was beginning to think too much like Bardock.  
  
Marron nodded carefully. "That's what Goten told me, your majesty." As neutral as she was keeping her face and her voice, Vegeta still got the impression that she was distinctly annoyed, which only made the smirk on his face grow broader.  
  
"I see," he nodded sagely. He paused, allowing the silence to hang heavy in the air for a moment while he stared piercingly at the human. Marron looked to be doing her best not to squirm under his intense gaze, which he'd been told had the effect of making people feel as though they'd been stripped naked. Pleasant thought. Pleasant enough that he decided to let Marron off the hook by looking away, pretending to glance cursorily around the near empty banquet hall. Besides, there was really only one female's naked flesh that could hold his attention for longer than a moment. His eyes briefly caressed the blue hair and curves of his mate standing across the room with their daughter, the two apparently engrossed in hushed conversation. "Diplomat Marron, perhaps you do not yet realize the seriousness of the situation," he mused. "There is a woman loose in my palace whose intentions are unknown, who has incapacitated a third of my first class warriors, and who happens to bear the same name as your... companion. I might also add that the onna was _clearly_ a Saiyan and that your fellow diplomat's lineage in that regard has recently been brought into question. Now, the moment this Son Pan makes her escape, Son Goten also disappears... to go to the bathroom." The tone of his voice left no doubt about what he thought of that excuse. "Coincidence? I doubt it." Casting a sly glance at Marron, it was all he could do to keep any cheshire qualities out of his grin. Kami, he loved it when unwanted dignitaries gave him an opportunity like this! "Frankly, onna, I don't see how Earth can expect me to proceed with our diplomatic discussions when half of the team they sent has such a questionable character."  
  
"What exactly are you insinuating, King Vegeta?" Ice blue eyes flashing coldly, Marron drew herself up to her full height and crossed her arms over her chest. "Goten has never been anything but an upstanding citizen on my world. Just because he happens to bear a resemblance to some of _your_ people doesn't automatically make him a Saiyan! And I have no idea why you think _Pan_ is a Saiyan, either. Except for being strong and having black hair, she doesn't share _any_ of your race's characteristics."  
  
"Oh, but she does," Vegeta purred silkily. "Or didn't you notice her tail?"  
  


-o-

  
Bubbles floated through the blue-tinted fluid of the regen tank, teasing their way through the mass of hair that belonged to Bardock's eldest and only living son. A long moment passed in silence before Bardock finally sighed and turned away. "How long until he's healed?"  
  
The alien med tech who had been busily noting down the statistics on Radditz's readouts looked up and shrugged. "His skull nearly cracked open, Bardock, not to mention the broken nose. I'd give him two, maybe three hours. More if there was any damage done to his brain. You know brain injuries take the longest to heal."  
  
A frown of concern crossed the Saiyan's scarred face. "There isn't going to be any permanent damage, though, right?"  
  
Shaking his head, the doctor replied, "There shouldn't be. Radditz probably would have recovered on his own, though there's a chance he might have suffered amnesia if the injury was left untreated. Your son's got a pretty hard head, even for a Saiyan... no offense."  
  
Bardock smirked. "None taken. Thick skulls run in the family." He allowed himself one last glance at his son, then gave the med tech a short nod and headed for the door to the med lab. "I have a few things to take care of. I'll be back in a few hours. If he wakes up before I get here, don't let him leave." Not bothering to wait for the alien to acknowledge his words, the Saiyan warrior strode purposefully through the door and turned left. He had the better part of three hours to kill and he intended to put them to good use.  
  


-o-  


  
The trek to Goten's room was one of the most stressful experiences Goten had ever had. With their ki senses extended, they'd managed to avoid running into anyone so far, but they still had to walk past countless rooms with people inside... people who sometimes drifted perilously close to their doors. Often times not knowing an alternate route to take, the two of them were left with no choice but to take a deep breath and hurry past each door, hoping and praying that no one would come out at that crucial moment. While it had been very nerve wracking, their luck had held up to now. It only had to last a little longer, then Goten and his niece would be safely concealed inside his room. If memory served him right, his and Marron's quarters should be just down this hall, turn left, through the double doors, third room on the right....  
  
_Shhht._  
  
Goten's head jerked up at the sound of a door sliding open. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the man who'd just walked into the hall and he quickly reached out to grabbed Pan by the arm. The other man, one of those two who looked uncannily like his father, hadn't noticed them yet, and he was turning to go down the hall in the opposite direction from where he and Pan stood. There wasn't anywhere to hide in the long corridor, but if they held still and didn't make any sound, they might yet-  
  
"Bardock, wait! You forgot the readout on your son's condition!"  
  
It was at moments like these that Goten really wished he'd spent more time with Piccolo. He could really do with a few good curses to hurl right about now. As it was, time suddenly seemed to have been turned to molasses as he and Pan stood stopped in their tracks, unable to do anything but watch as Bardock turned around to address the alien doctor who'd rushed out after him... and caught sight of them. For a moment, the slow crawl of time froze completely while the three of them stared at each other, the scaly green med tech standing forgotten and confused with a sheet of paper clutched in one hand.  
  
Then Bardock blinked, and the moment was broken. An expression of grim determination settled onto the Saiyan's features as he swiftly raised one hand into the air, already glowing with intense blue energy. "Make any sudden moves, and I'll blast you," he declared flatly. "Both of you are coming with me." The energy from his aura was racing into his open hand and collecting itself into a steadily growing ball of ki the likes of which Goten hadn't felt since the last time he'd sparred with his father. A shiver ran down his spine. This guy meant business, and he had the power to back it up...  
  
...unless he could go...   
  
He quickly shook the thought off. While it would give him the power he'd need to easily defeat this guy, it was too dangerous to perform inside a building or near innocents like the doctor... or Pan. But then again, Pan seemed to have gained a lot of strength recently. She might be strong enough to withstand the initial effects of the strange technique only he, his brother, and his father could perform, but he didn't want to risk it. He'd have to come up with another plan.  
  
"Pan, go find Marron," Goten murmured, stepping directly between his niece and the man who could almost pass as his father's twin.  
  
"Now wait just a minute!" Pan protested furiously. "I can fight my own battles!"  
  
Ah, there was the Pan Goten knew and loved and could get so frustrated with. "Now's not the time for this, Pan," he hissed in a flash of annoyance. Maybe Pan had forgotten to gauge Bardock's energy, or maybe she had purposely chosen to ignore it, but from what Goten was feeling right now, there was no way she could fight this man and expect to win. Not even with that newfound strength of hers. "Just do as I say and go! I'll meet up with you later."  
  
Apparently not satisfied with this response, Pan opened her mouth to further argue the point. "But-"  
  
"Pan, GO!" Goten snapped. He didn't dare take his eyes off Bardock, who was watching the exchange through narrowed eyes, evidently waiting for them to make a move. He didn't know how he'd measure up to this Saiyan in an all out fight, and he wasn't keen on finding out with Pan anywhere nearby, especially not in such a confined area. Abruptly shifting tactics to something he felt was more likely to convince his niece to cooperate, he added a hint of pleading to his voice, still speaking softly. "Please, Pan. This isn't a situation you can resolve with your fists. I'm a diplomat, remember? I have to handle this a certain way, or it'll result in a huge mess for Earth." With any luck, he could still get out of this without resorting to blows... but then, this was Vegeta-sei. The Saiyan words for 'argument' and 'brawl' were practically synonymous.  
  
Something about what he said seemed to surprise Pan. She blinked and gave him an odd look, almost as though she had never seen him before, then reluctantly nodded. "All right," she grumbled. Without another word, she spun abruptly on her heels and stalked back down the hall the way they came from.  
  
In completely the opposite direction of Marron and Goten's rooms.  
  
Because, a wide-eyed Goten realized at the last moment, he'd forgotten to tell her _where_ his and Marron's rooms were. He opened his mouth to call Pan back, but the words never had a chance to leave his lips before Bardock's ki blast slammed into his chest.  
  


-o-

  
_I am _not _running from a fight,_ Pan told herself repeatedly as she retraced her steps. She knew that if she'd tried to go past Bardock (_My great grandfather,_ she weakly realized) it would have only resulted in the fight her uncle was trying to avoid. _Uncle Goten's right. He's a diplomat, so he has to do things... diplomatically._ She had to shake her head at that. Goten, a diplomat. Who would've thought it? Still, it irked her that he'd sent her away as though dismissing a child from _adult_ conversation. Granted, she wasn't exactly the most diplomatic of people, but she knew how to keep control of herself!  
  
If it was important, anyway.  
  
"I'm not a fucking child," she muttered to herself, letting her feet guide her around a corner into branching corridor. It wasn't until she felt the arms around her waist, pulling her back against a rather masculine chest, that she realized - too late - that she'd allowed her guard to drop and had failed to notice the approaching ki signature. She couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her lips as well muscled arms effectively trapped her arms against her sides.  
  
"No, you're not," a smooth, amused voice chuckled into her ear. The sound of that familiar voice sent thrills up and down Pan's spine. Heart beating wildly inside her chest, she twisted her head around to meet the sparkling blue eyes of her captor. "If anything, I'd say you're a fucking woman," Prince Trunks murmured, punctuating the statement by taking advantage of her open mouth with a deep, lip-locking kiss.  
  


-o-

  
Unprepared for the strength of Bardock's attack, Goten was nearly knocked off his feet, saved only at the last minute by his father's training. The Earth-born diplomat quickly dropped into a defensive stance, feeling somewhat singed, but he made no move to retaliate. Instead he watched Bardock warily for any sign of a follow-up to that first attack. The alien doctor had long since scuttled back into the med lab, apparently knowing better than to stick around when two Saiyans (to his eyes, Goten looked to be Saiyan) are about to fight.  
  
"That was a warning shot," Bardock growled, as though reading Goten's mind. "You don't want to fight me, Son Goten."  
  
"You're right, I don't," Goten agreed levelly. Inwardly he was having a hard time trying to ignore the little ball of fear that was forming in his gut. _Warning shot? If that was just a warning shot, I really, really don't want to see how strong his blasts are when he means business!_ He was the son of Son Goku, the strongest man that Goten knew, and even though he knew he was no weakling, he'd never enjoyed getting the crap beat out of him the way his father seemed to. It was one of the many reasons he'd chosen not to follow in his father's footsteps and become a warrior, choosing instead to be a diplomat. A peace maker. It didn't help that he'd never had anyone his own age to share his fighting talent with. Fighting probably would have been a lot more appealing if he'd has a 'comrade in arms', so to speak. But there had been no one on the planet anywhere near his age who could keep up with him, so it wasn't long before his attention shifted to other things. Speaking of attention... Goten scolded himself soundly for allowing his mind to wander in such a potentially volatile situation. "I _don't_ want to fight you, Bardock," he repeated. "But I will if you don't leave my niece alone."  
  
One of Bardock's eyebrows rose to meet his hairline. "Niece?" he challenged, a strange glint of triumph in his eyes. "Son Pan is your _niece_?" At the younger man's confused nod, Bardock raised another, deadlier ball of ki. "Son Goten," he declared, voice ringing with grim authority, "I hereby place you under arrest on the charge of being of Saiyan blood and living on a planet where Saiyan habitation is prohibited, endangering species purity and threatening the safety of the planet's weaker native people. You will accompany me to have the evidence documented, or I will subdue you." His mouth twisted into a dark, humorless smirk. "Your choice."  
  
Goten stared. And stared. And stared some more. "_What?!_"  
  
"And diplomats are supposed to be intelligent," Bardock snorted. "Very well, I'll repeat myself. You're under arrest because-"  
  
"I heard all that!" Goten cut him off angrily. "What I want to know is what in Kami's name makes you so sure I'm a Saiyan! It's purely coincidence that we look alike! I am _not _a Saiyan, I'm a human! And I am _not _a danger to my world!" The very _idea _was an affront to everything he and his family stood for.  
  
"You claim kinship with Son Pan, a known demi-Saiyan," Bardock stated, the ki blast in his hand still blazing steadily. The Earth-raised diplomat's eyes widened in shock and he opened his mouth to protest that accusation against his niece, but the older man cut him off impatiently. "Look, if you're so certain that you're a human, there's a very simple way to prove it."  
  
"How's that?" Goten asked warily.  
  
The head of the science wing and strategical commands used his free hand to point at the door he'd recently walked through. "Go get your blood tested," he said with a wicked grin.  
  
The suspected Saiyan eyed his opponent suspiciously for a moment, as though expecting some kind of trick, then stubbornly raised his chin. "All right, I'll do it." Ignoring the potential attack merrily humming in Bardock's hand, Son Goten strode through the doors to the med lab with a look of grim determination. _I'll prove to you I'm not a Saiyan, Bardock._  
  


--oo--

  
I bet you all thought I'd never get around to the romance. -cheeky grin- I haven't forgotten what genre this fic is filed under... I just have a tendency to get caught up in the plot of a story. Next chapter WILL have romance (or at least an attempt at romance). Promise. But since I've never done serious romance before, I can't promise it'll be any good. I'll try my best, though!  
  
And, yes, I know that, theoretically, Goten wouldn't necessarily have to have Saiyan blood just because he's Pan's uncle (after all, it could have come from the other side of Pan's family... in some strange, alternate universe...), but in Bardock's mind, there was enough evidence to make an arrest.  
  
Until next time.  



	17. We Were Both Wrong

Wow. Only a week since the last update! I hope the shock didn't kill all my fans...  
  
Disclaimer: I hardly need repeat myself at this point in time, but I will anyway. I don't own DBZ. I also don't own Ff.net, because if I did, you can bet that I wouldn't have destroyed all the astericks, carats, and underlines (among others)! My poor smileys...  
  


_**We Were Both Wrong**_

  
It was the second time Trunks had kissed her like this, but the effect it had on her wasn't diminished in the slightest. If anything, the feelings his lips created in her gut only intensified, a warm, twisting sensation deep inside her that somehow left her both weak and excited. The first time she had felt it left her paralyzed, unable to do anything but let Trunks kiss her while she stared at him in shock. This time, though....  
  
Almost against her will, Pan found herself responding to the kiss. It was so warm, and his lips and tongue tasted just as she'd always thought they would whenever she'd fantasized about kissing Trunks back in her own time. The taste hadn't registered the first time around, but now she noticed traces of wine and something that reminded her of chicken overlaying a flavor that was distinctly Trunks. After a moment, some abstract part of her brain decided she liked the taste of the blue-eyed demi-Saiyan, and she closed her eyes to allow herself to concentrate on nothing but the feast of flavors in Prince Trunks's mouth. Everything else was lost in a purple haze in her brain, including what was left of her rational mind, which was clamoring at her that she was _kissing _the very man who'd been sent to pursue her. The voice wasn't able to compete with roaring in her ears.  
  
Senses reeling, it took Pan a moment to realize that Trunks had adjusted his grip on her, turning her body to face his so that she no longer had to twist her head to kiss him. He still had one arm curled tightly around her torso to prevent her from escaping, leaving the other one free to roam her body. His touch left trails of fire in its wake, awakening a deep sense of longing inside her that Pan had absolutely no clue what to do about... though it seemed her body had a pretty good idea, especially after he started caressing her tail. Moaning softly into the kiss, she couldn't help but press closer to his solid, muscled body...  
  
...until his hand reached into places no man's hand belonged. And you can bet _that_ brought her back to her senses _real_ fast.  
  
"Wh-what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Pan gasped, ripping herself out of the kiss that had so addled her wits. She struggled to pull away from Trunks, but the prince's arms were still firmly wrapped around her. That didn't stop her from trying, though. "Let go of me, Trunks!"  
  
"You led me on such a merry chase," Trunks whispered huskily as he backed her up against a wall. Rather than taking the rejection of his lips personally, he simply applied them elsewhere, kissing and nipping along her jaw, her ear, her throat. "Do you really think I'm going to let you go now, Pan? Just like that?"  
  
The light scraping of Trunks's against the sensitive skin of her throat nearly drove her crazy, leaving Pan gasping and breathless in his arms. She might have given in then and there - if it weren't for the fact that the lavender haired prince still had his hand between her legs, caressing her spandex-clad thighs in a way that was designed to unleash a flood of hormones. And, damnit, it was working! But it also gave her something to focus on, because she Did Not Want Him Touching Her There! No matter _how_ good it felt! Bracing herself against the heady onslaught of hormones, Pan started powering up. She'd already been caught by Trunks, so it hardly mattered if she started showing up on people's radar screens. "I _said_," she gritted out between clenched teeth, "let _go_ of me, you pervert!"  
  
"And I said no," Trunks laughed. Seeing the look in her eyes, and perhaps sensing the power welling up inside her, he smiled charmingly. "Oh, come on. You can't tell me you don't like it." He leaned forward, molding his body to hers, and breathed in deeply of her scent, then exhaled softly. The expelled breath tickled Pan's earlobe, sending a shiver of pleasure down her spine. His smile turned into a smirk. "Because I can read your body like an open book, and I know you'd be lying if you said that."  
  
"Then you're obviously reading the wrong page," Pan growled. She was having a hard time keeping herself from shaking like a leaf, but she didn't want to give Trunks the satisfaction of knowing he was right. Balling her hands into fists, she struggled to free even one of her arms so she could punch the daylights out of the perverted, arrogant jerk. "Get your fucking hands off me, before I-mmph!" The words were cut off by another kiss, this one deeper, more passionate than the last.  
  
It was also shorter. "Before you what?" Breaking off the kiss after only a few moments, Trunks's mouth once again curved into a smile. "I'll admit that you're strong, but..." He leaned in close so that his lips were right next to her ear and continued in a low, throaty whisper, "But I'm far stronger than you could ever hope to become. I am, after all, the Prince of all Saiyans." His dancing blue eyes met her depthless black ones. "And I always get what I want."  
  
Pan swallowed a lump in her throat, though she couldn't begin to guess what emotion had caused it to form, and stared straight back at Trunks. Much to her relief, the prince removed his offending hand from its embarrassing position on her legs and raised it to caress her cheek. From anyone else it would have been a tender gesture, but from Trunks... Pan didn't know what to think. Trying to keep her voice steady, she dared to ask, "And what would that be?"  
  
The question was answered with a feral grin. "You, Son Pan. I want you."  
  


-o-

  
Bardock was beginning to have doubts. The evidence he had gathered so far still stood strong, damning the diplomat from Earth just as surely as before... and yet, Goten seemed so sure of himself, so certain that he _could not_ be of Saiyan birth. Either the boy was completely ignorant of what he was, or... _Or he is not what I think he is,_ Bardock concluded somberly as he watched the alien doctor draw blood from the suspected Saiyan's arm.  
  
Goten grimaced the entire time the doctor had the needle in his arm, causing Bardock to raise an eyebrow. Surely the boy wasn't so weak that a mere needle caused him pain! The doctor pulled the needle out and retreated to his office with the blood sample, leaving the two men alone - unless you counted Radditz, who still out cold in one of the regen tanks. Noticing the expression on the scarred warrior's face, Goten rubbed his arm and shrugged sheepishly. "My father's afraid of needles," he said by way of explanation. "I guess it kinda rubbed off on me."  
  
With little else to do while the doctor ran the tests on Goten's blood, Bardock decided he might as well find out all he could about this boy and his family. Leaning back against a wall, the elder Saiyan deliberately allowed his tail to swing loose behind him. Even though he hadn't been raised on Vegeta-sei, if Goten was a Saiyan, his instincts would recognize the relaxed body language and that would help put him at ease. If not, then it didn't really matter what Bardock did with his tail. "Is your father a strong man?"  
  
"Oh, yeah!" Goten responded with a boyish grin. "He's the strongest person I know! Not even my brother, Gohan, is as strong as him, though 'tousan says he could be if he trained more often. I guess Gohan just likes teaching more than fighting." He hopped up onto one of the examination beds, making himself comfortable until the doctor's return. "Not that I blame him, really. Neither of us like fighting as much as 'tousan would like us to."  
  
So, Goten had a brother. No doubt he was the father of Son Pan. Bardock had to hold back a grimace at the realization of just how big a mess this was going to be if it turned out that Saiyan blood ran in this family. Picking up a scouter that was probably left by some injured Saiyan who'd come in to have his wounds treated, Bardock casually tossed it over to Goten. The diplomat caught it easily, giving him a curious look. "Take a reading of me, boy. How would you say I compare to your father in strength?"  
  
Goten contemplated the scouter for a moment, turning it over in his hands with the air of someone mulling something over in their mind. He darted a quick glance at Bardock, looking for all the world like someone with a secret to tell, then abruptly shook his head. He fumbled the scouter over his ear as he awkwardly tried to put it on, obviously unfamiliar with the device, then finally managed to fix it into place. A tap of the button on the side of the device was all that was required to turn it on, then near silence ensued while both men waited for the scouter to finish beeping. "Well... um..." Goten hesitated for a moment, then pulled the scouter off and handed it back to Bardock with a shrug. "I think 'tousan's stronger than you. I can't really say by how much, though." He smiled wryly. "It tends to vary." Once again, Bardock got the impression that there was a lot more that Goten wasn't saying.  
  
But what he'd said was more than enough to leave a chill in the heart of king's right-hand man. _Stronger than me..._ His lips pressed together in a thin line. _There are only two people I know of who are stronger than I am: King Vegeta and Prince Trunks. If this boy's father is strong enough to rank with them..._ The thought left him pale and shaking... and with an inexpressible desire to look up every curse word in existence. He did _not_ want to be the one who had to deal with extraditing Goten's family if they turned out to be Saiyans. Unfortunately, by virtue of being related to him, that possibility looked all too likely. _What the hell have I gotten myself into?_ Then, unable to help himself, he wondered, _Just who did Turles sleep with to get a brat that strong?_  
  
The sound of a throat being cleared pulled Bardock from his dazed musings and back to the situation at hand. He looked up to see the green scaled doctor standing in the doorway of his office, shifting his feet nervously. "Er... Bardock, sir? Could I... speak with you privately?"  
  
The head of the science wing and strategical commands frowned. What could the med tech possibly have discovered that couldn't be said in front of Goten? The doctor knew that Goten knew what the blood tests were for, so why the secrecy? He glanced at Goten, wondering if he could trust the boy not to...  
  
"I'm not about to run off, Bardock," Goten commented dryly as though reading the other man's mind. "I want to know the results of those tests as much as you do so that I can get this matter settled once and for all. If you want, though, I can go wait in the doctor's office."  
  
Bardock nodded, approving of both the plan and of Goten's willingness to face the truth - whatever it might be. "We'll call you out when we're done." He waited until Goten jumped down from the examination bed and entered the office, the soft snick of the door confirming that it had been shut all the way, before rounding on the little green alien. "Well? What did you find?"  
  
The doctor - Bardock never had bothered to learn his name - took a deep breath. His eyes darted once to the door Goten had just disappeared through, then settled resolutely on the face of the Saiyan before him. "There can be no mistake, sir," he began without preamble. "He's the hybrid son of a Saiyan and a human."  
  
Even though Bardock had been expecting this, he could still feel himself tense at this revelation. _Damn it... this is going to be one hell of a fine mess to clean up._ "And?" he prodded. "What else did you find out? There's obviously more, or you wouldn't have asked to speak to me alone."  
  
There was a moment's hesitation, then the doctor blurted out, "It's his parents."  
  
The spiky haired Saiyan waited for an explanation, but none seemed forthcoming. "Well?" he asked, eyebrow raised. "What about them?"  
  
Another hesitation, then... "It doesn't make sense!" the little fellow cried out. "When we discovered a Saiyan parent, we ran the standard genetic comparison through the DNA database to see if we could find a match... And we did!"  
  
Bardock held his breath, knowing that this was the moment of truth. _Turles, you Kami-damned, son of a..._  
  
"But something isn't right! The computer thinks that the Saiyan parent is an infant boy who was listed as having died over sixty years ago!"  
  
_Wha-?_ Brow furrowing in confusion, Bardock tried to figure out why the computer would think a dead Saiyan baby was Goten's father. _Though it would explain why Turles never found out he had a son. Perhaps the child was declared "dead" before the mother got around to telling my brother about it. Someone must have made a mistake, then... either the mother or the doctors on hand. Unless the baby's birth was deliberately covered up..._ The possibility - and the reasons that would have to be behind it - was troubling... but at least his brother had a good excuse for his ignorance. As much as he and his twin quarreled, Bardock wouldn't ever want something truly bad to happen to Turles - like the trouble he'd get into for being party to a disaster like this. "What was the boy's name?"  
  
The doctor pursed his lips, then gingerly handed over a small, hand-held data pad. The display showed a picture of a tiny Saiyan baby, no more than a couple days old, peering curiously up at whoever had taken the picture. His hair shot off in all directions in the tell-tale spiky tradition of his family, his skin smooth and milky white and his fuzzy brown tail clutched in one hand, covered in slobber. The picture felt... vaguely familiar, though Bardock couldn't figure out why. He dismissed it as nothing more than the obvious family resemblance the infant shared with him and his brother. _He looks just as I imagine a son of Turles would look..._  
  
Curious as to the child's name, Bardock's eyes slid to text below the baby's picture. And froze.  
  
_KAKAROT  
Son of Bardock and Sereri  
Born: ---- at 7:43 a.m.  
Weight: 6 lb. 11 oz.  
Strength at birth: 2.3  
Class: Third  
Died: Declared dead on ----   
Cause of death: Shortly after the child was sent on a planet clearing mission, all contact was lost with his space pod. All records of the child's destination were lost and no trace of him was ever found. The chances of survival depend on the type of planet he was sent to, but without a caretaker of some sort (and it can be presumed that any possible candidates in the child's vicinity were subsequently killed upon the night of the planet's full moon) it is highly unlikely that a Saiyan infant could survive longer than two years. (See appendix for details on Saiyan survival rates.) Five years passed before a declaration of death was issued._  
  
The hand holding the data pad trembled and, suddenly, Bardock knew exactly why the doctor had wanted to speak to him privately before telling Goten the results. His legs abruptly gave out beneath him, dropping him to his knees, but he didn't care. All he could do was stare numbly at the image of the boy he had thought lost to him all these years.  
  
Kakarot.  
  
_My son...._  
  


-o-

  
Goten waited until the door to the office had closed behind him before allowing a small sigh to escape his lips. He'd never really liked waiting, but it was something that he had needed to learn in order to become a good diplomat. No matter how much he itched to _do_ something, there were many times where patience would bring better results. It looked like now was one of those times... not that he had much of a choice. There was only one way in or out of the doctor's office, and that was the door Goten had just walked through.  
  
The room itself offered nothing to distract the young man with, containing only a desk, a chair, a computer terminal, a couple filing cabinets, and a shelf with some sort of medical equipment on it. A password prompt glowed dimly on the computer screen - the doctor obviously guarded his things carefully - and Goten felt no urge to rummage through either the desk drawers or the cabinets. _I guess there's nothing to do except wait for someone to come get me._  
  
Lowering himself into the chair behind the desk, the spiky haired diplomat closed his eyes and thought back on the events of the past few minutes, specifically the incident with the scouter. Goten had never used a scouter before, certainly not to take a reading of his father's energy, so he'd been something at a loss when Bardock had asked him to compare their strengths. Yes, he could sense ki, and he'd known before the older man had even asked that his father was stronger than the scarred Saiyan officer, but he didn't know if it was such a good idea to reveal his ability to sense ki. His father had taught him that a good warrior should keep strengths a secret just as much as weaknesses. The less an opponent knew about you, the better, and it was always a good idea to have a few cards hidden up your sleeve. Goten had found that this advice could be applied to both warriors and diplomats, so he'd chosen instead to pretend to use the scouter to gauge Bardock's strength.  
  
The man was no weakling, that was for sure. The encounter in the hall had proven that. Even though Goten was certain that Bardock hadn't been fully powered up, he felt safe in assuming that the older Saiyan was nearly his equal in strength - unless, of course, Goten used his father's special technique, the one with the side effect of turning his hair yellow. He didn't think there was _anyone _he'd ever met who was as strong as one of the Son males when they "went Gold", as they called it. However, strength wasn't the only factor that counted in a fight, so Goten knew better than to assume that he'd be able to win in a fight with Bardock. That was one of the reasons he'd been so wary of the man when he and Pan had run into him.  
  
_I bet dad would love to meet this guy,_ Goten mused, a small smile flickering across his lips. Aside from the striking resemblance Bardock had to Son Goku, Goten imagined that his father would be all too eager to test his skills against the Saiyan warrior. Goku always enjoyed a good fight, and there was no doubt that Bardock would provide one. So long as the eldest Son refrained from going Gold, Goten was certain that the fight would not be an easy one to win. _Maybe after this is all over..._  
  
The soft whisper of the office door sliding open brought the young diplomat out of his reverie. The scaly green doctor stood there, face unreadable - though Goten didn't know if that was because the alien was good at hiding his emotions, or because he just didn't have enough experience reading the facial expressions of this particular species.  
  
"You can come back out now," the diminutive fellow said, beckoning for Goten to leave the office. Goten nodded and followed him back to where Bardock was waiting.  
  
Silence reigned for several moments as Goten waited for the older man to speak. The doctor wandered over to the regen tank containing Radditz and started making minor adjustments on the machine's console, allowing the two men a modicum of privacy. Bardock was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed and his head bowed in thought, one hand holding a small data pad of some sort. It might have been Goten's imagination, but he almost thought he detected a slightly ashen quality to the Saiyan warrior's face. He _did_ look rather rattled about something, though.  
  
Just as Goten was about to say something to break the silence, Bardock started laughing. Well, not laughing, really. It was more of a soft, rueful chuckle, but in the previous silence of the med lab, it seemed a lot louder than it really was. "You know what's funny?" Bardock asked, voice still tinged with that same ironic laughter, and at last he raised his head to meet Goten's eyes. "We were both wrong. You..." He shook his head and barked a laugh. "You are not descended from my brother, as I thought you were."  
  
There was something disturbing about the way Bardock was behaving, something about the way he was looking at Goten, that raised the hair on the back of his neck. Goten eyed the older man warily. "Of course I'm not. I told you, I'm-"  
  
"Not a Saiyan?" Bardock cut him off sharply. He abruptly pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning on and began circling Goten like a predator. "That's where you're wrong, Son Goten. You _are_ a Saiyan." He stopped pacing and stood directly in front of the bewildered young man. Their eyes met again, chips of flint mirrored in obsidian orbs, and Goten couldn't help but swallow nervously. "Saiyan blood runs through your veins as surely as it does through mine."  
  
A chill swept through Goten's heart. "The tests verified this?" If he really was a Saiyan... the consequences would be...  
  
"Hai," came Bardock's clipped response. "If you want, we can have the doctor show us the details in a minute. First, though, we have something more important to discuss." He didn't wait to give the shell-shocked Saiyan a chance to ask the obvious question before taking hold of Goten's arm in a fierce grip. "Tell me, Goten," he demanded harshly. "Tell me how my son survived to become your father."  
  


--oo--

  
Bardock's in a weird mood in this chapter... but that's rather to be expected, given what he's just been through. -grin-  
  
About scouter technology: I figure that scouters in this era only blow up if they're trying to read an active ki that's over the so-called Blow-up Level, but if the person being read isn't in the middle of powering up (i.e. there isn't a storm of energy swirling around in the air trying to overload the circuits), a scouter would have no problem reading someone's ki unless they were deliberately masking or suppressing it. Thus, when Goten read Bardock's ki, he _did_ get an accurate reading even without blowing the scouter up, but the times when Goten, Marron, and Pan have been read, the reading has been inaccurate due to the fact that they were actively trying to hide their true strength. Please ignore holes in this theory. -shiny smile-  
  
About Goku's records: I purposely left the dates blank because I didn't want to deal with nitpicky fans. I couldn't use the DBZ timeline because those dates only apply to EARTH, so obviously Vegeta-sei wouldn't use that dating system. However, if I made up a different dating system, I'd run the risk of having rabid fans jump down my throat for having the wrong dates. Therefore, I leave them up to the readers' imagination. And I know that Saiyans probably wouldn't measure weight in terms of pounds and ounces, but using a made-up system there just wouldn't work, and I'm not familiar enough with other weight systems to use them with any degree of accuracy. I can only ask readers to willingly suspend their disbelief in that area. -sheepish-  
  
Feedback would be greatly appreciated, especially in regards to the scene with Trunks and Pan... though I wouldn't mind comments on how the scenes with Goten and Bardock played out, either. -grin- 


End file.
